Selection of RAPD primers for geographically most distinct Lithuanian populations of Impatiens parviflora

Abstract

Surprisingly little information is available about adaptations of invasive species in the Baltic countries. Since 1934 Impatiens parviflora DC. was recorded in the suburbs of Vilnius, supposedly it escaped from the VU Botanical Garden. Presently I. parviflora belongs to naturalized species of active distribution. In Lithuania, I. parviflora occurs abundantly in man-disturbed localities – urban sites, roadsides or farmyards. Permanently overmoistured gleyic forest sites are also common habitats of I. parviflora. Our study aimed at selection of RAPD primers for evaluation of genetic variability among geographically contrasting four populations of I. parviflora. Populations growing near the western, southern, northern and eastern borders of Lithuania (Karklė, Ratnyčia, Žagarė, Švenčionys) were selected. Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) as the most ubiquitous for plant analysis molecular markers type was selected for evaluation of genetic diversity of I. parviflora populations. Among thirty RAPD primers tested, 222, 250, 269, 340, 474, 516, OPA-20, OPB-7, OPD-20, OPQ-11 generated the largest amount of DNA bands and were selected for the analyses. For each population, the percentage of polymorphic bands with ten primers was 21–27 (the lowest for Karklė and the highest for Žagarė population), and the number of polymorphic bands ranged in the interval 40–50. Molecular variance among populations was much higher (82%) than within populations. Varying geographically, populations of I. parviflora were sufficiently distinct according to RAPD based principal component analyses, also by UPGMA dendrograms. Pair-wise genetic distance among these populations ranged from 0.349 to 0.583. The obtained data show that distribution of invasive species might bring changes in genetic diversity. Keywords: small balsam, Balsaminaceae, polymorphism, invasion, alien species