Genetic diversity of Nuphar lutea in Lithuanian river populations

Abstract

Currently, in Europe, increasing attention is being paid to the genetic diversity of aquatic macrophytes. Insufficient information exists about the river plants of the Baltic states. Our study aimed to evaluate the genetic diversity of Nuphar lutea individuals growing in Lithuanian watercourses. Eighteen populations were studied in the river catchments of Lithuania: Nemunas, Venta and Lielupė. The genetic diversity of the populations was evaluated at microsatellite loci. The population genetic data of N. lutea were analysed by multiple tests, including hierarchical analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA), principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) and the Mantel test. The observed (HO) and expected (HE) heterozygosity values per population were 0.242 - 0.655 and 0.503 - 0.759, respectively. Our study revealed significant differentiation among populations (FST = 0.162; p < 0.001) and no correlation between genetic and geographical distances; this outcome is in agreement with relatively high inbreeding in populations and implies limited gene flow among subcatchments.