Allozyme Variation of Coniferous Tree Species from Maramures Mountains, Romania

Abstract

Two coniferous tree species, Norway spruce [Picea abies L. (Karst)] and silver fir (Abies alba Mill.), from Maramures Mountains Nature Park, in northern Romania, were examined by means off allozyme markers. For Norway spruce, the genetic structure was observed at 19 enzyme coding loci in two populations situated at different elevations above the see level. Moderate levels of genetic variation within populations (on average, the number of alleles per locus was 2.14, the expected heterozygosity was 0.144) and an extremely low variation (FST=0.003) between the two populations was found. The genetic diversity was slightly higher in the low elevated population as compared to the high elevated spruce population. The estimated values for genetic multiplicity and diversity were comparable with those reported for a series of populations from the nearby Ukrainian Carpathians. For silver fir, the genetic variation was estimated at five enzyme coding loci from two enzyme systems, peroxidases and esterases, in five populations distributed throughout Maramures Mountains. Only three out of five loci were polymorphic in at least one population. The genetic diversity within populations was low (on average, expected heterozygosity was 0.093) and genetic differentiation among populations was relatively high (FST=0.106) which is consistent with their geographical position in the region. The results may contribute to a better understanding of the genetic structure in two of the most important tree species from Romania.