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GENETIC STRUCTURE OF THE AUSTRALIAN CYCAD, MACROZAMIA COMMUNIS (ZAMIACEAE)
Author(s) -
Ellstrand Norman C.,
Ornduff Robert,
Clegg Janet M.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
american journal of botany
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.218
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1537-2197
pISSN - 0002-9122
DOI - 10.1002/j.1537-2197.1990.tb14453.x
Subject(s) - cycad , biology , genetic diversity , botany , range (aeronautics) , genetic structure , genetic variation , population , genetics , gene , demography , materials science , sociology , composite material
Cycads have been the subject of a wide variety of botanical studies. However, nothing is known of the genetic structure of their populations. Seeds were collected from five populations of the common Australian cycad Macrozamia communis along a north to south transect through its 500‐km‐long range in eastern New South Wales. Leaf samples from seedlings grown from those seeds were the subject of isozyme analysis. Nine of the 18 isozyme loci studied were polymorphic. Levels of polymorphism varied among loci and among populations. The three southern‐most populations were genetically similar to one another but well differentiated from the other two. The levels of species‐wide genetic diversity observed for M. communis were relatively low compared with those of other gymnosperms and angiosperms. On the other hand, the levels of spatial differentiation were relatively high, especially compared with other gymnosperms.