Allozyme variation in the Polygonum lapathifolium complex

Abstract

The Polygonum lapathifolium complex consists of populations that are widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere and that have been classified at different taxonomic levels. Allozyme data were used to test the current North American taxonomic status of members of the complex (including P. lapathifolium var. lapathifolium, P. lapathifolium var. salicifolium, and P. scabrum) and to verify diploidy in the P. lapathifolium complex and polyploid origins of the morphologically similar P. persicaria and P. pensylvanicum. Of the 15 enzyme systems surveyed in 50 populations of the complex, only 3 of the 23 loci (Acon, Lap, and Skdh) were polymorphic in the North American populations and a total of 6 loci in European populations. Fifteen multilocus genotypes were evident in the complex. Four genotypes (all with Lap-10.67 were exclusive to North American populations of P. lapathifolium, providing support for a North American element of the complex. Nine genotypes (all with Lap-10.63) were found in North American and European populations of P. scabrum, all European populations of the P. lapathifolium complex, and three populations of North American P. lapathifolium var. lapathifolium. Lap-10.67 was also found in the native tetraploid P. pensylvanicum, whereas Lap-10.63 was found in the introduced tetraploid P. persicaria. Genetic distances among populations did not support the current taxonomic divisions within the complex, nor did it support separate species status of P. scabrum. Allozyme data provided support for the allotetraploid origins of P. pensylvanicum and P. persicaria, with members of the P. lapathifolium complex as one of the parents of each. Key words: Polygonum lapathifolium, Polygonum scabrum, Polygonum pensylvanicum, Polygonum persicaria, allozymes.