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Seed dispersal and fine-scale genetic structuring in the asexual Nigritella miniata (Orchidaceae) in the Alps

Hedrén, Mikael LU and Lorenz, Richard (2019) In Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 190(1). p.83-100
Abstract
Orchids have minute, air-filled seeds and are considered to be efficient dispersers and colonizers. However, empirical studies show that most seeds fall within a metre of the mother plant in orchids, and that individuals standing close to each other are often closely related. A poor contribution to gene dispersal by seeds may be compensated for by more efficient dispersal by pollen, but in autogamous or agamospermous orchids this component is not available. Here, we used two highly variable simple sequence repeat loci to analyse fine-scale genetic structure in the agamospermous orchid Nigritella miniata, which is widespread in alpine grasslands in the Dolomites. We studied a densely populated area of 30 × 50 m and an enlarged area of 100 ×... (More)
Orchids have minute, air-filled seeds and are considered to be efficient dispersers and colonizers. However, empirical studies show that most seeds fall within a metre of the mother plant in orchids, and that individuals standing close to each other are often closely related. A poor contribution to gene dispersal by seeds may be compensated for by more efficient dispersal by pollen, but in autogamous or agamospermous orchids this component is not available. Here, we used two highly variable simple sequence repeat loci to analyse fine-scale genetic structure in the agamospermous orchid Nigritella miniata, which is widespread in alpine grasslands in the Dolomites. We studied a densely populated area of 30 × 50 m and an enlarged area of 100 × 500 m with more scattered occurences. Sp statistics, describing the decrease in relatedness with geographical distance, were 0.1073 and 0.0609, respectively, and were among the highest values recorded for the orchid family, revealing a strong genetic structuring. However, some genotypes in the studied area were distributed at distances up to 26.5 km in the Dolomites, which suggests that long-distance seed dispersal occurs occasionally and that populations separated by long distances can still be parts of the same meta-population system. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
Orchids have minute, air-filled seeds and are considered as efficient dispersers and colonizers. Yet, empirical studies show that most seeds fall within the nearest metre from the mother plant in orchids, and that individuals standing close to each other are often closely related. A poor contribution to gene dispersal by seeds may be compensated for by more efficient dispersal by pollen, but in autogamous or agamospermous orchids this component is not available. Here, we used two highly variable simple sequence repeat loci to analyze fine-scale genetic structure in the agamospermous orchid Nigritella miniata, which is widespread in alpine grasslands in the Dolomites. We studied a densely populated area of 30×50 m and an enlarged area of... (More)
Orchids have minute, air-filled seeds and are considered as efficient dispersers and colonizers. Yet, empirical studies show that most seeds fall within the nearest metre from the mother plant in orchids, and that individuals standing close to each other are often closely related. A poor contribution to gene dispersal by seeds may be compensated for by more efficient dispersal by pollen, but in autogamous or agamospermous orchids this component is not available. Here, we used two highly variable simple sequence repeat loci to analyze fine-scale genetic structure in the agamospermous orchid Nigritella miniata, which is widespread in alpine grasslands in the Dolomites. We studied a densely populated area of 30×50 m and an enlarged area of 100×500 m with more scattered occurences. Sp statistics, describing the decrease in relatedness with geographic distance, were 0.1073 and 0.0609, respectively, and were among the highest values recorded for the orchid family, revealing a strong genetic structuring. Still, some of the genotypes in the studied area were distributed at distances up to 26.5 km in the Dolomites, which suggests that long-distance seed dispersal occurs occasionally and that populations separated by long distances can still be parts of the same metapopulation system. (Less)
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author
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society
volume
190
issue
1
pages
83 - 100
publisher
Oxford University Press
external identifiers
  • scopus:85072174795
ISSN
1095-8339
DOI
10.1093/botlinnean/boz005
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
9287b491-21d6-4060-81c9-a80d1c56d40e
date added to LUP
2019-05-23 12:41:28
date last changed
2022-04-26 00:37:04
@article{9287b491-21d6-4060-81c9-a80d1c56d40e,
  abstract     = {{Orchids have minute, air-filled seeds and are considered to be efficient dispersers and colonizers. However, empirical studies show that most seeds fall within a metre of the mother plant in orchids, and that individuals standing close to each other are often closely related. A poor contribution to gene dispersal by seeds may be compensated for by more efficient dispersal by pollen, but in autogamous or agamospermous orchids this component is not available. Here, we used two highly variable simple sequence repeat loci to analyse fine-scale genetic structure in the agamospermous orchid Nigritella miniata, which is widespread in alpine grasslands in the Dolomites. We studied a densely populated area of 30 × 50 m and an enlarged area of 100 × 500 m with more scattered occurences. Sp statistics, describing the decrease in relatedness with geographical distance, were 0.1073 and 0.0609, respectively, and were among the highest values recorded for the orchid family, revealing a strong genetic structuring. However, some genotypes in the studied area were distributed at distances up to 26.5 km in the Dolomites, which suggests that long-distance seed dispersal occurs occasionally and that populations separated by long distances can still be parts of the same meta-population system.}},
  author       = {{Hedrén, Mikael and Lorenz, Richard}},
  issn         = {{1095-8339}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{04}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{83--100}},
  publisher    = {{Oxford University Press}},
  series       = {{Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society}},
  title        = {{Seed dispersal and fine-scale genetic structuring in the asexual Nigritella miniata (Orchidaceae) in the Alps}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/botlinnean/boz005}},
  doi          = {{10.1093/botlinnean/boz005}},
  volume       = {{190}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}