Genetic changes associated with
ex situ native plant propagation
and
consequences for reintroductions:
case study in Castilleja levisecta
Adrienne Basey
Northwestern University
Jeremie Fant
Andrea Kramer
Chicago Botanic Garden
Does nursery production change genetic
variability of native plants?
Talk outline
• definitions
• study species
• study design
• methods
• results
• more results!
• conclusions & implications
A a A A A B
Genetic diversity…
Why is it important?
Restorations using plants with higher
genetic diversity have:
faster recovery after climactic extremes
(Hughes and Stachowicz 2004)
increased resistance to pests and pathogens
(Tooker and Frank 2012)
improved establishment success
A B A a A A
a a A A b b
A b A a A b
A b A a A b
B B b b A b
B b b b A A
a a A a A A
A A b b B b
a a B b A a
A A A b A b
(Crawford and Whitney 2011)
more potential to respond to a changing
climate (Jump et al. 2009)
A a a a B b
a b A b A a
A b A A B b
b b B b A A
a a a B A A
A a A A A B
Genetic diversity…
A B A a A A
What is it?
“The extent of genetic variation in a
population or species” (Frankham 2013)
a a A A b b
A b A a A b
A b A a A b
B B b b A b
B b b b A A
 variants of a gene (allelic diversity)
 variants in an individual (heterozycity)
 differences between individuals (inbreeding)
a a A a A A
A A b b B b
a a B b A a
A A A b A b
A a a a B b
 differences between populations (structure)
a b A b A a
A b A A B b
b b B b A A
a a a B A A
A a A A A B
Genetic diversity…
What is it… for this study?
A B A a A A
a a A A b b
A b A a A b
A b A a A b
B B b b A b
inbreeding
depression
B b b b A A
non-adaptive
local
adaptation
(neutral)
a a A a A A
A A b b B b
a a B b A a
A A A b A b
seed transfer
zones
A a a a B b
a b A b A a
A b A A B b
b b B b A A
a a a B A A
Potential means
of genetic
change through
propagation
Basey, A.C., J.B. Fant, and A.T. Kramer. 2015. Producing native plant materials for restoration: 10 rules to collect and
maintain genetic diversity. Native Plants Journal 16 : 37–53.
Study species
Castilleja levisecta
golden paintbrush
• short-lived perennial
• Orobanchaceae
• hemiparasitic
• effectively self-incompatible
• pollinated by Bombus
• federally threatened
• wonderfully endearing
Charismatic mesoflora
Photo: Tom Kaye
Photo: Tom Kaye
Historic range
Pacific
Northwest
• British
Columbia
• Washington
• Oregon
Current range
Current range
• 12 extant
populations
• most occur in
islands of the
Puget Sound
Reintroductions
• spearheaded by
IAE
• began in 2005
• most 2010-2011
• 32 sites
wild seed
seed increase beds
outplanted
pop n=21, sample n=613
Study question
• Does propagation in the nursery change
genetic diversity?
Statistic
Bottleneck
Number of
alleles
Inbreeding
Outbreeding Status
quo
no change
no change
no change
Methods
UFP28
UFP30
UFP32
UFP34
UFP36
UFP37
UFP38
UFP39
14
14
14
14
14
14
14
14
101
101
101
101
107
101
104
101
101
101
110
101
107
101
107
107
182
182
182
191
191
182
182
182
182
191
200
191
191
182
191
191
225
225
225
227
227
219
221
219
225
227
227
242
227
225
242
227
241
247
247
247
247
250
247
247
241
253
253
247
247
253
253
250
210
210
210
210
210
210
213
210
210
216
216
210
210
210
216
213
165
174
171
165
174
165
168
174
165
174
174
174
174
165
174
180
241
241
244
244
247
247
244
244
247
244
247
247
247
247
247
247
202
202
217
205
238
202
211
214
241
202
235
220
244
205
220
235
Results
wild (n=4), nursery (n=5), reintroduction (n=12)
Statistic
Bottleneck Outbreeding
Number of
alleles
Inbreeding
Status
quo
no
change
no change
*
no
change
Total alleles (n)
80
p = 0.16
60
40
20
0
p = 0.048
Structure analysis
More results!
Conclusions
• Past nursery production shows no loss of genetic diversity
for Castilleja levisecta
• Wild communities show unique genetic signatures
Implications
• Maintain unique seed lots for predictable provenance
of outplanted material
Acknowledgments
• Andrea Kramer and Jeremie Fant
• Tom Kaye
• Havens/Kramer Lab
• Peter Dunwiddie
• Deisi Williamson
• Jeremy Sutherland
Funding:
Northwestern Plant Biology and Conservation
Washington Native Plant Society
Research Experience for Undergraduates
Shaw Family
Robert D. Hevey and Constance M. Filling
Harris Foundation
questions?
References
Basey AC, Fant JB, Kramer AT. 2015. Producing native plant materials for restoration: 10 rules to collect
and maintain genetic diversity. Native Plants Journal 16(1) 37-52.
Crawford, K. M. and K. D. Whitney. 2011. Population genetic diversity influences colonization success.
Molecular Ecology 19:1253-1263.
Frankham, R., J. Ballou, and D. Briscoe. 2010. Introduction to Conservation Genetics, 2nd edn.(Cambridge
University Press: Cambridge.)
Hughes, A. R., and J. J. Stachowicz. 2004. Genetic diversity enhances the resistance of a seagrass
ecosystem to disturbance. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of
America 101:8998–9002.
Jump, A. S., R. Marchant, and J. Peñuelas. 2009. Environmental change and the option value of genetic
diversity. Trends in Plant Science 14:51-58.
Tooker, John F., and Steven D. Frank. Genotypically diverse cultivar mixtures for insect pest management
and increased crop yields. Journal of Applied Ecology 49.5 (2012): 974-985.
The preceding presentation was delivered at the
2015 National Native Seed
Conference
Santa Fe, New Mexico April 13-16, 2015
This and additional presentations available at
http://nativeseed.info