Population genetic structure of yellow starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis), a colonizing weed in the western United States

Abstract

Yellow starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis L.), a diploid annual native to the Mediterranean region, has rapidly colonized a variety of disturbed habitats in the western United States since its accidental introduction in the mid-19th century. Population genetic attributes were investigated in association with the species' colonizing success. Allozyme electrophoretic surveys were conducted for a total of 22 populations from California, Washington, and Idaho, including the southern and northern extremes of its distribution in the Pacific states. High levels of allozyme variation exist within populations, on average 43% of loci were polymorphic, with 2.88 alleles, a heterozygosity of 0.38, and gene diversity of 0.35 per polymorphic locus. At the species level, 56% of loci were polymorphic, with 2.85 alleles per locus, and the total gene diversity was 0.172. With the exception of a marginal population San Diego, the level of genetic diversity was similarly high in all regions. Lack of interpopulation genetic divergence (GST = 0.095) suggests that majority of the colonial populations were founded by a large number of genotypes and that high levels of gene flow may exist between local populations (Nm = 2.38). Information on genetic structure of the weed populations may aid our understanding of the species' colonizing ability in North America and is important for predicting the effectiveness of biological control program. Key words: allozyme variation, Centaurea solstitialis, population genetics, weed colonization, yellow starthistle.