To date, there has been no systematic assessment of genetic variability and population structure in naturally occurring sea oats (Uniola paniculata) stands in USA that could be useful for selecting appropriate germplasm for both conservation and restoration purposes. Studies have been conducted to assess the genetic relationship and diversity among U. paniculata accessions from southeastern Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States (nineteen different accessions were selected to represent eight states: Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia) using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP). As expected, the sea oats plants exhibited a low range of genetic similarity. Florida accessions were most genetically diverse and the accessions from both Carolinas and Virginia harbored less genetic variability. Cluster analysis using the UPGMA approach separated U. paniculata plants into four major clusters, which were also confirmed by the principal coordinate analysis (PCA). Further examination of the different components of genetic variation by analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) indicated the largest proportion of variability at the state level (47.8%) followed by the variation due to the differences among the genotypes within an accession (34.4%) and those among the accessions within a state (17.8%).
Sea Oats in a GreenhouseThe relationship between genetic diversity and geographic source of sea oats populations of the United States as revealed through this comprehensive study would be helpful for the resource managers and commercial nurseries in identifying suitable plant materials for restoration of new areas without compromising the adaptation and genetic diversity.
Principal coordinate analysis of sea oats plants from eight different states using Jaccard similarity coefficient matrix computed from 703 AFLP markers
