Genetic diversity and differentiation of Pinus sylvestris L. from the IUFRO 1982 provenance trial revealed by AFLP analysis

DNA markers have become effective tools in genetic diversity studies of forest trees. However, molecular marker analyses are associated with laborious and costly effort. One of the possibilities to overcome these constraints is to analyze bulked samples per population, rather than individual plants. We have used bulked DNA-based AFLP analysis to investigate genetic variations in Pinus sylvestris L. (Scots pine) from the IUFRO 1982 provenance trial in Kórnik (western Poland). Four AFLP primer combinations yielded a total of 309 bands, of which 208 (67.31%) were polymorphic. Thirty-six (11.65%) unique alleles were deployed randomly among the populations. Estimated genetic diversity and differentiation was high, as expressed by He = 0.238 and I = 0.356, and by genetic distance values which ranged from 0.154 to 0.363. A geographic pattern of interpopulation differentiation was observed, pointing to the individual character of populations from northeastern Europe. In the light of available data, we discuss the influence of historical migration routes, gene flow and human activity on observed genetic diversity and differentiation of Scots pine in Europe. Our results indicate that the AFLP method applied to DNA templates extracted from bulked leaf samples provides an efficient approach to elucidate genetic diversity and relationships among Scots pine populations