title: No genetic diversity at molecular markers and strong phenotypic plasticity in populations of Ranunculus nodiflorus, an endangered plant species in France.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Although conservation biology has long focused on population dynamics and genetics, phenotypic plasticity is likely to play a significant role in population viability. Here, an investigation is made into the relative contribution of genetic diversity and phenotypic plasticity to the phenotypic variation in natural populations of Ranunculus nodiflorus, a rare annual plant inhabiting temporary puddles in the Fontainebleau forest (Paris region, France) and exhibiting metapopulation dynamics.
  
  
  METHODS
  The genetic diversity and phenotypic plasticity of quantitative traits (morphological and fitness components) were measured in five populations, using a combination of field measurements, common garden experiments and genotyping at microsatellite loci.
  
  
  RESULTS
  It is shown that populations exhibit almost undetectable genetic diversity at molecular markers, and that the variation in quantitative traits observed among populations is due to a high level of phenotypic plasticity. Despite the lack of genetic diversity, the natural population of R. nodiflorus exhibits large population sizes and does not appear threatened by extinction; this may be attributable to large phenotypic plasticity, enabling the production of numerous seeds under a wide range of environmental conditions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Efficient conservation of the populations can only be based on habitat management, to favour the maintenance of microenvironmental variation and the resulting strong phenotypic plasticity. In contrast, classical actions aiming to improve genetic diversity are useless in the present case.
authors.affiliation: Université Montpellier II, UMR 5554, Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution, CC065, Place Eugène Bataillon, F-34095 Montpellier cedex 05, France. flo.noel@isem.univ-montp2.fr
authors.forename: Florence
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Noel
authors.forename: Nathalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Machon
authors.forename: Emmanuelle
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Porcher
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D005602:France; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005838:Genotype; D010641:Phenotype; D019655:Quantitative Trait, Heritable; D031947:Ranunculus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development*