Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Genetic diversity in the rare orchid Gymnadenia odoratissima and a comparison with the more common congener, G. conopsea

  • Published:
Conservation Genetics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Patterns and levels of genetic diversity mayhave significant influence on the long termpersistence of local populations and revealingsuch information is important in protectingrare species. In this study we investigated thegenetic pattern in five microsatellite lociwithin five Swedish populations of the rareorchid species Gymnadenia odoratissima. Thegeographic distribution of G. odoratissima isrestricted to Europe and in Scandinavia it isonly found in three provinces in southernSweden; Östergötland,Västergötland and on the island ofGotland.Compared with the more widespread congener G.conopsea our results indicate lower levels ofgenetic variation within and higher degrees ofgenetic differentiation among populations ofG. odoratissima (HEL = 0.6–0.8 in G. conopseaand 0.3–0.7 in G. odoratissima; FST over allpopulations = 0.06 in G. conopsea and 0.19 inG. odoratissima). Also, we found a cleardistinction among mainland and islandpopulations of G. odoratissima wherepopulations on the island of Gotland seem toexhibit higher levels of gene flow andintragenetic variation, probably as a result ofa larger number of existing populations.Future conservation of this species shouldfocus on facilitation on colonisation events,especially on the mainland, and preservation ofthe genetically more variable Gotlandpopulations.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Arduino P, Verra F, Cianchi R, Rossi W, Corrias B, Bullini L (1996) Genetic variation and natural hybridization between Orchis laxi-flora and Orchis palustris (Orchidaceae). Plant. Syst. Evol., 202, 87–109.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baldwin BG, Sanderson MJ, Porter MJ, Wojciechowski MF, Campbell CS, Donoghue MJ (1995) The ITS region of nuclear ribosomal DNA: A valuable source of evidence on angiosperm phylogeny. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard., 82, 247–277.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barrett SCH, Kohn JR (1991) Genetic and evolutionary consequences of small population size in plants: Implications for conservation. In: Genetics and conservation of rare plants (eds. Falk DA, Holsinger KE), pp. 3–30. Oxford University Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beardmore JA (1983) Extinction, survival and genetic variation. In: Genetics and conservation. A reference for managing wild animal and plant populations (eds. Schonewald-Cox CM, Chambers SM, MacBryde B, Thomas L). The Benjamin-Cummings Publishing Company Inc., Menlo Park, California, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • BMDP Statistical Software Inc. Ver. 1.0 (1994) Los Angeles, USA.

  • Case MA, Mlodozeniec HT,Wallace LE,Weldy TW (1998) Conservation genetics and taxonomic status of the rare Kentucky lady's slipper: Cypripedium kentuckiense (Orchidaceae). Am. J. Bot., 85, 1779–1786.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chase M, Kesseli R, Bawa K (1996) Microsatellite markers for population and conservation genetics of tropical trees. Am. J. Bot., 83, 51–57.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chung MY, Chung MG (1999) Allozyme diversity and population structure in Korean populations of Cymbidium goeringii (Orchidaceae). J. Plant Res., 112, 139–144.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cingel, NA van der (1995) An atlas of orchid pollination – European orchids. A. A. Balkema, Rotterdam.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cornuet JM, Piry S, Luikart G, Estoup A, Solignac M (1999) Comparison of methods employing multilocus genotypes to select or exclude populations as origins of individuals. Genetics, 153, 1989–2000.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dafni A (1987) Pollination in Orchis and related genera: evolution from reward to deception. In: Orchid biology: reviews and perspectives Vol. 4 (ed. Arditti J). Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ehlers BK, Pedersen H (2000) Genetic variation in three species of Epipactis (Orchidaceae): geographic scale and evolutionary inferences. Biol. J. Linn. Soc., 69, 411–430.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellegren H, Moore S, Robinson N, Byrne K, Ward W, Sheldon BC (1997) Microsatellite evolution – A reciprocal study of repeat lengths at homologous loci in cattle end sheep. Mol. Biol. Evol., 14, 854–860.

    Google Scholar 

  • Felsenstein J (1985) Phylogenies and the comparative method. Am. Nat., 125, 1–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frankham R (1997) Do island populations have less genetic variation than mainland populations? Heredity, 78, 311–327.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gaggiotti OE, Lange O, Rassmann K, Gliddons C (1999) A comparison of two indirect methods for estimating average levels of gene flow using microsatellite data. Mol. Ecol., 8, 1513–1520.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gitzendanner MA, Soltis PS (2000) Patterns of genetic variation in rare and widespread plant congeners. Am. J. Bot., 87, 783–792.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldstein DB, Linares AR, Cavalli-Sforza LL, Feldman MW (1995) An evaluation of genetic distances for use with microsatellite loci. Genetics, 139, 463–471.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gustafsson S (2000) Patterns of genetic variation in the fragrant orchid (Gymnadenia conopsea). Mol. Ecol., 9, 1863–1872.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gustafsson S, Thorén P (2000) Characterization of microsatellite loci in the fragrant orchid, Gymnadenia conopsea. Mol. Ecol. Notes, 1 A7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gärdenfors U (ed.) (2000) Rödlistade arter i Sverige 2000 –The 2000 redlist of Swedish species. SLU publikationstjänst, Uppsala.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haldane JBS (1954) An exact test for randomness of mating. J. Genet., 52, 631–635.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamrick JL, Godt MJ (1989) Allozyme diversity in plant species. In: Population genetics, breeding and genetic resources (eds. Brown AHD, Clegg MT, Kahler AL, Weir BS). Sinauer Associates, Sunderland MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hedrick PW (1999) Perspective: Highly variable loci and their interpretation in evolution and conservation. Evolution, 53, 313–318.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hedrick PW, Miller PS (1992) Conservation genetics – techniques and fundamentals. Ecol. Appl., 2(1), 30–46.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hegi G (1909) Illustrierte Flora von Mitteleuropa, 1st edn. JF Lehmans Verlag, Berlin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huenneke LF (1991) Ecological implications of genetic variation in plant populations. In: Genetics and Conservation of Rare Plants (eds. Falk DA, Holsinger KE), pp. 31–44. Oxford University Press Inc., New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hultén E, Fries M (1986) Atlas of North European vascular plants: north of the Tropic of Cancer I. Koeltz Scientific Books, Königstein.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hylander N (1966) Nordisk kärlväxtflora II. Almqvist and Wiksell, Stockholm.

    Google Scholar 

  • Innan H, Terauchi R, Miyashita NT (1997) Microsatellite polymorphism in natural populations of the wild plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Genetics, 146, 1441–1452.

    Google Scholar 

  • Karron JD (1987) A comparison of levels of genetic polymorphism and self-compatibility in geographically restricted and widespread plant congeners. Evol. Ecol., 1, 47–58.

    Google Scholar 

  • Karron JD (1991) Patterns of genetic variation and breeding systems in rare plant species. In: Genetics and conservation of rare plants (eds. Falk DA, Holsinger KE), pp. 87–98. Oxford University Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Li CC (1976) First Course in Population Genetics. The Boxwood Press, Pacific Grove, California.

    Google Scholar 

  • Murren CJ, Ellison AM (1998) Seed dispersal characteristics of Brassavola nodosa (Orchidaceae). Am. J. Bot., 85, 675–680.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nei M (1972) Genetic distance between populations. Am. Nat., 106, 283–292.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nilsson LA, Rabakonandrianina E, Pettersson B (1992) Exact tracking of pollen transfer and mating in plants. Nature, 360(6405), 666–668.

    Google Scholar 

  • Proctor M, Yeo P, Lack A (1996) The Natural History of Pollination. Harper Collins Publishers, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raymond M, Rousset F (1995) Genepop (Version 1.2): Population genetics software for exact tests and ecumenicism. J. Hered., 86, 248–249.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reinhammar LG, Hedren M (1998) Allozyme differentiation between lowland and alpine populations of Pseudorchis albida s.lat. (Orchidaceae) in Sweden. Nord. J. Bot., 18, 7–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reusch TBH, Stam WT, Olsen JL (1999) Microsatellite loci in eelgrass Zostera marina reveal marked polymorphism within and among populations. Mol. Ecol., 8, 317–321.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reusch TBH, Stam WT, Olsen JL (2000) A microsatellite-based estimation of clonal diversity and population subdivision in Zostera marina, a marine flowering plant. Mol. Ecol., 9, 127–140.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rousset F, Raymond M (1995) Testing heterozygote excess and deficiency. Genetics, 140, 1413–1419.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharma IK, Clements MA, Jones DL (2000) Observations of high genetic variability in the endangered Australian terrestrial orchid Pterostylis gibbosa R. Br. (Orchidaceae). Biochem. Syst. Ecol., 28, 651–663.

    Google Scholar 

  • Slatkin M (1985) Rare alleles as indicators of geneflow. Evolution, 39, 53–65.

    Google Scholar 

  • Slatkin M (1995) A measure of population subdivision based on microsatellite allele frequencies. Genetics, 139, 457–462.

    Google Scholar 

  • Soltis P, Bloom W (1986) Genetic variation and estimates of gene flow in Clarkia speciosa subsp. polyantha (Onagraceae). Am. J. Bot., 73, 1677–1682.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sterner R (1948) Ölands flora. Berlingska boktryckeriet, Lund.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sun GL, Salomon B, Bothmer RV (1998) Characterization and analysis of microsatellite loci in Elymus caninus (Triticeae: Poaceae). Theor. Appl. Genet., 96, 676–682.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sun M (1996) Effects of population size, mating system and evolutionary origin on genetic diversity in Spirantes sinensis and S. hongkongensis. Cons. Biol., 10, 785–795.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weir B, Cockerham, C (1984) Estimating F-statistics for the analyses of population structure. Evolution, 38, 1358–1370.

    Google Scholar 

  • White G, Powell W (1997) Isolation and characterization of microsatellite loci in Swietenia humilis (Meliaceae): an endangered tropical hardwood species. Mol. Ecol., 6, 851–860.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wong KC, Sun M (1999) Reproductive biology and conservation genetics of Goodyera procera (Orchidaceae). Am. J. Bot., 86, 1406–1413.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Conservation Biology and Genetics EBC, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18D, 752 36, UPPSALA, Sweden

    S. Gustafsson & P. Sjögren-Gulve

Authors
  1. S. Gustafsson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. P. Sjögren-Gulve
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to S. Gustafsson.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Gustafsson, S., Sjögren-Gulve, P. Genetic diversity in the rare orchid Gymnadenia odoratissima and a comparison with the more common congener, G. conopsea . Conservation Genetics 3, 225–234 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1019969014333

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1019969014333

Search

Navigation