Genetic variability in natural populations of <i>Paspalum dilatatum</i> Poir. analyzed by means of morphological traits and molecular markers

Abstract

Native species show adaptive traits that are difficult to find in introduced species. The Pampas region in Argentina is a valuable nature reserve of grasses and <i>Paspalum dilatatum</i> Poir. is one of the most important grasses found there. Based on ploidy level and on morphological traits, five biotypes of <i>P. dilatatum</i> have been described. Two of them were included in this study: a tetraploid biotype with sexual reproduction and a pentaploid biotype with apomictic reproduction. We analyzed the genetic diversity in eight native populations from the Salado basin, Argentina, using both quantitative traits and molecular data (RAPD) with these aims: to obtain information of the degree of phenotypic variation in that area, to know which the pattern of distribution of this variation is and to look for association between molecular markers with populational or biotypic differentiation. Cluster analysis based on morphological data grouped the individuals of the different populations by ploidy level. Molecular markers showed the inverse situation because individuals were grouped by geographic origin as opposed to biotype. Moreover, since RAPD did not discriminate between biotypes with sexual or apomictic reproduction, they are probably not associated with mating system. The results let us conclude that polygenic traits such as LP, LBSR, NRT and NSP can discriminate between biotypes and molecular markers such as bands 12, 40, 19 and 46 can be used to discriminate among populations, probably because they detect neutral variation.