Use of chloroplast microsatellites to differentiate oak populations

Abstract

The possibility to use chloroplast microsatellites (cpSSRs) instead of restriction analysis of PCR-amplified DNA fragments to differentiate oak populations was tested in two economically important tree species: Quercus petraea and Quercus robur. The level and pattern of inter- and intraspecific cpDNA variation were studied over 48 French populations using a total of 24 cpSSR loci. The same pattern of low intrapopulation diversity and high population differentiation was noted with both types of markers, since there was an almost total redundancy of haplotypes identified with both techniques. Overall, our results indicate that chloroplast microsatellites can be used for haplotype discrimination in many contexts including certification or traceability of oak material. © INRA, EDP Sciences, 2005.