Patterns of amplified restriction fragment polymorphism in natural populations and corresponding seed collections of plains rough fescue (Festuca hallii)

Plains rough fescue (Festuca hallii (Vasey) Piper) is a dominant native grass species in the Fescue Prairie region of North America that has undergone dramatic range reduction in the past century. Little is known about the genetic diversity of this species. The amplified restriction fragment polymorphism (AFLP) technique was applied to assess the comparative genetic diversity of six plains rough fescue populations in Manitoba and Saskatchewan and their corresponding seed collections. Three AFLP primer pairs were employed to screen 529 samples, representing about 30 samples each of reproductive tiller, vegetative tiller, and seed collected from each population. A total of 330 polymorphic AFLP bands were scored for each sample; their occurrence frequencies ranged from 0.01 to 0.99 and averaged around 0.47. Analysis of molecular variance revealed more than 90% of the total AFLP variation resided within natural populations (reproductive and vegetative tillers) and within seed samples. Four populations sampled...