PARENT SESSION
Poster Session 2: Forest Ecology
Monday, August 8, 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM, Exhibit Hall 220 A-E, Level 2, Palais des congrès de Montréal
Population dynamics of seedlings of Fagus crenata revealed by parentage analysis with microsatellite DNA.
Suyama, Yoshihisa*,1, Maruyama, Kaoru1, Tomita, Mizuki2, Takahashi, Makoto3, Seiwa, Kenji1, 1 Tohoku University, Naruko, Japan2 Yokohama National University, Yokohama, Japan3 Forest Tree Breeding Center, Hitachi, Japan
ABSTRACT- By using parentage analysis with hypervariable microsatellite markers, it is possible to identify parental trees of seedlings in natural forests. We identified the maternal trees of the current-year seedlings of Fagus crenata in a primary beech forest in northern Japan by analyzing DNA from the woody pericarp, a tissue of maternal origin that is usually attached to emerged seedlings. Demography of the seedlings has been studied for four years. In our 90 x 90 m study plot, 10,710 current-year seedlings emerged in 324 quadrats (1 x 1 m) were tagged for the demographic study, and their pericarp samples were collected and their size measured. DNA was extracted from 2,283 pericarp samples (from 10% of the tagged seedlings and all tagged seedlings that survived until the following spring) and 287 leaf samples from all adult trees in the plot and buffer area (170 x 170 m). By comparing the pericarp genotype at four microsatellite loci with the genotypes of 287 adult trees, the maternal trees of 2,231 seedlings were identified from the candidates. On average, the estimated number of seedlings produced per mother tree was 2,233, and the distance between mother trees and seedlings was 11 m. Larger mother trees tended to produce more seedlings. Only 1.7% seedlings survived for four years. Seedlings characterized by earlier leaf emergence and from larger seed tended to have higher survival. This study demonstrates the utility of parentage analysis for demographic study in natural plant populations.
Key words: beech, demography, SSR, seed dipersal