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Population structure affected by excess gene flow in self-pollinating Elymus nutans and E. burchan-buddae (Triticeae: Poaceae)

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Population Ecology

Abstract

Seed-mediated gene flow can considerably affect population genetic structure of strictly self-pollinating species, but little is known on the extent and nature of such gene flow among pastoral plant populations. Molecular fingerprints provide a powerful tool to address the relevant issues. Genetic structure of 22 populations of two self-pollinating pasture species, Elymus nutans and E. burchan-buddae, collected from various altitudes of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau was studied using fluorescence-based amplified fragment length polymorphism technique. Analysis of molecular variance revealed 42.97% and 37.63% among-population variation for the two Elymus species, respectively, indicating that the majority of the total variation presented within populations. This result contradicts the common genetic variation pattern for a selfing plant species: lower genetic variation within populations. Further analysis suggested higher level of gene flow among populations within the same region than among different regions across the sampled area for the two Elymus species. STRUCTURE analyses of the Elymus populations indicated an evident admixture genetic structure, particularly among neighboring populations from the same region, supporting the hypothesis of considerable seed dispersal among populations. The excess within-region gene flow of E. nutans and E. burchan-buddae might be caused by grazing animals that promote seed dispersal when moved around the pastoral lands during foraging. The among-population gene flow promulgated by grazing animals may promote the maintenance of genetic diversity in the pasture species, particularly in small and fragmented populations within a given region.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology (No. 2001CB711103) and National Natural Science (30871531 and 30600033) of China. We are grateful to Prof. K Wang, Z He, and Dr. SY Wang of the Institute of Grassland Sciences, China Agricultural University, Mrs. AQ Gong, YX Xu, H Chang, L Dan, and H Li of the Grassland Management Bureau of Qinghai Province, and Mr. B Ning of the Grassland Management Station of Maqin County, Qinghai Province for their comments and extensive assistance in the field.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Education Ministry for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, Institute of Biodiversity Science, Fudan University, 200433, Shanghai, China

    Xue-Bing Yan & Bao-Rong Lu

  2. College of Animal and Veterinary Science, Henan Agricultural University, 450002, Zhengzhou, China

    Xue-Bing Yan & Yu-Xia Guo

  3. College of Life Science, Gansu Agricultural University, 730070, Lanzhou, China

    Fa-Yang Liu & Chong Zhao

  4. Department of Bioengineering and Biotechnology, Institution of Life Sciences, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, 266042, Qingdao, China

    Quan-Lan Liu

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  1. Xue-Bing Yan
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Correspondence to Bao-Rong Lu.

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Yan, XB., Guo, YX., Liu, FY. et al. Population structure affected by excess gene flow in self-pollinating Elymus nutans and E. burchan-buddae (Triticeae: Poaceae). Popul Ecol 52, 233–241 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10144-009-0169-x

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