Genetic differences between two Polish populations of Pinus uliginosa, compared to P. sylvestris and P. mugo

Genetic differences between two populations of P. uliginosa from Batorów and Węgliniec were assessed on the basis of 15 allozyme loci. The level of genetic differentiation between them was also compared with genetic differences among the three closely related pine taxa: P. uliginosa, P. sylvestris and P. mugo. A high level of genetic variation was found in both populations of P. uliginosa. The average (Na) and effective (Ne) numbers of alleles per locus amounted respectively to 2.47 and 1.50 in Węgliniec and to 2.67 and 1.52 in Batorów and the percentage of polymorphic loci was 80% and 87%, respectively. Close relationship between the three studied species were confirmed. The genetic differences between the two populations of P. uliginosa were substantial, as the Nei's genetic distance between the two populations (D = 0.040) was larger than between populations of P. sylvestris and between populations of P. mugo. The relatively high level of genetic differentiation between P. uliginosa populations may result from their isolation, small size and possibly different origin of these populations.