On-going on-farm microevolutionary processes in neighbouring cowpea landraces revealed by molecular markers.
A knowledge of existing levels of diversity is fundamental for planning in situ (on-farm) conservation activities. Three neighbouring cowpea landraces (LRs) currently cultivated in central Italy were studied by amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) and selectively amplified microsatellite polymorphic locus (SAMPL) markers to determine the distribution of genetic variation within and among them. The three LRs studied, although relatively similar, are highly different from one another as shown by the significance of the Fisher exact test for the genic differentiation and the absence of genotype sharing among them. Data obtained from the AFLP and SAMPL markers separately and their combined data revealed a relatively high level of diversity still present within the LRs. The more efficient SAMPL technique was better at discriminating between the plants than the AFLP markers. The three LRs studied appear to be structured as a metapopulation in which a substantial differentiation is maintained at the subpopulation level. A complex interaction of factors (drift, LR isolation, farmer selection, migration within LRs) explains the observed pattern of diversity. The results suggest that the best strategy for maintaining diversity in the area is to preserve each of the LRs observed on the farms from which it came.
Tosti
Nicola
N
Lab srl, via Strozzacapponi 89a, Castel Del Piano, 06071, Perugia, Italy.
Negri
Valeria
V
D001947:Breeding / Q000379:methods; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D017931:DNA Primers; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D007887:Fabaceae / Q000235:genetics*; D005787:Gene Frequency; D014644:Genetic Variation; D007558:Italy; D015810:Linkage Disequilibrium; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats / Q000235:genetics; D021141:Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D013045:Species Specificity
D017931:DNA Primers