Search Results
Pityopsis ruthii is an endangered species endemic to the Hiwassee and Ocoee Rivers in Tennessee. As part of a recovery effort focused on P. ruthii, vegetative propagation and in vitro multiplication and seed germination techniques were developed. Plants were vegetatively propagated using greenhouse stock plants and wild-collected stems. Rooting occurred with and without auxin treatments but was greatest when 0.1% indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) talc was applied to the vegetative cuttings; rooting was lowest when flowering stems were used. Pro-Mix BX substrate provided the most consistent rooting. In vitro multiplication was accomplished by the removal of lateral shoots from in vitro-grown plants that were rooted on Murashige and Skoog (MS0) basal medium with 270 clones produced from a single individual after 4 months. Nineteen clones were transplanted and secured with bonded fiber matrix into their natural habitat and 14 survived for 1 year. To avoid genetic swamping of native populations with the introduction of large numbers of genetically identical individuals through clonal propagation, seed-based propagation efforts were explored. Open-pollinated seeds were collected, disinfested and germinated, and seedlings established on MS medium. Seeds were submersed in 70% ethanol for 1 minute and briefly flamed. Seeds were surface-sterilized in a range [10% to 50% (v/v)] Clorox® bleach solutions with vigorous shaking for 20 minutes, rinsed three times in sterile water, and germinated on MS0. Removal of pappus from seeds was required for successful disinfestations, but the bleach concentration was not critical. Successful propagation is a step toward the conservation and recovery of P. ruthii and should allow future reintroduction projects.
Viburnum rufidulum is a deciduous tree native to North America that has four-season appeal, which provides commercial horticultural value. In addition, the plant has unique and attractive red pubescence on leaf buds and petioles, common to no other Viburnum species. As habitat undergoes development and subsequent fragmentation of native plant populations, it is important to have baseline genetic information for this species. Little is known about the genetic diversity within populations of V. rufidulum. In this study, seven microsatellite loci were used to measure genetic diversity, population structure, and gene flow of 235 V. rufidulum trees collected from 17 locations in Kentucky and Tennessee. The genotype data were used to infer population genetic structure using the program InStruct and to construct an unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean dendrogram. A single population was indicated by the program InStruct and the dendrogram clustered the locations into two groups; however, little bootstrap support was evident. Observed and expected heterozygosity were 0.49 and 0.78, respectively. Low-to-moderate genetic differentiation (F ST = 0.06) with evidence of gene flow (Nm = 4.82) was observed among 17 populations of V. rufidulum. A significant level of genetic diversity was evident among V. rufidulum populations with most of the genetic variations among individual trees (86.37%) rather than among populations (13.63%), and a Mantel test revealed significant correlation between genetic and geographical distance (r = 0.091, P = 0.001). The microsatellites developed herein provide an initial assessment or a baseline of genetic diversity for V. rufidulum in a limited area of the southeastern region of the United States. The markers are a genetic resource and can be of assistance in breeding programs, germplasm assessment, and future studies of V. rufidulum populations, as this is the first study to provide genetic diversity data for this native species.