Molecular evidence for hybridization between invasive Solidago canadensis and native S. virgaurea

Artur Pliszko,Joanna Zalewska-Gałosz

doi:10.1007/s10530-016-1213-3

Abstract

Hybridization between alien and native species is biologically very important and could lead to genetic erosion of native taxa. Solidago × niederederi was discovered over a century ago in Austria and described by Khek as a natural hybrid between the alien (nowadays regarded also as invasive) S. canadensis and native S. virgaurea. Although interspecific hybridization in the genus Solidago is considered to be relatively common, hybrid nature of S. × niederederi has not been independently proven using molecular tools, to date. Because proper identification of the parentage for the hybrid Solidago individuals solely based on morphological features can be misleading, in this paper we report an additive polymorphism pattern expressed in the ITS sequences obtained from individuals representing S. × niederederi, and confirm the previous hypothesis that the parental species of this hybrid are S. canadensis and S. virgaurea. Additionally, based on variability at the cpDNA rpl32-trnL locus, we showed that in natural populations hybridization occurs in both directions.

Highlights

Solidago canadensis L. (Asteraceae), a North American species, was introduced to Europe as an ornamental plant in the 17th century (Kowarik 2003), and in the 19th and 20th centuries became naturalized in many European countries (Weber 1997)
Solidago canadensis was treated in its broad sense, including two varieties recognized in its native range (Semple et al 2015)
DNA was extracted from 15 samples of Solidago: three samples of S. 9 niederederi, six samples of S. canadensis, five samples of S. virgaurea and, as a reference, one sample of S. gigantea Aiton

Summary

Introduction

Solidago canadensis L. (Asteraceae), a North American species, was introduced to Europe as an ornamental plant in the 17th century (Kowarik 2003), and in the 19th and 20th centuries became naturalized in many European countries (Weber 1997). 9 niederederi has been reported from several countries in Europe, including the United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Germany, Poland, Lithuania and Russia (Nilsson 1976; Burton 1980; Sunding 1989; Mayorov et al 2012; Pliszko 2013, 2015; Karpaviciene_ and Radusiene_ 2016). Both parental species are morphologically very variable and their taxonomy requires critical revision (Slavık 2004; Semple and Cook 2006; Kiełtyk and Mirek 2014; Semple et al 2015; Szymura et al 2015). According to Nilsson (1976), S. 9 niederederi is usually more or less intermediate between S

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Conclusion