| Abstract Detail
Conservation Biology Blasini, Dayvis [1], Rios, Maria [1], Olfelt, Joel [2], Geddes, Pamela [1]. Microsatellite Markers That Differentiate Midwestern North American Typha (Typhaceae) Species. Three species of cattail (Typha spp.) grow in wetlands throughout Midwestern North America. One of them, Typha latifolia is generally considered to be native. In contrast, T. angustifolia is thought to be exotic, and their hybrid, T. x glauca, is an aggressive invasive. Both T. angustifolia and T. x glauca alter wetland ecosystem function and biodiversity, but because of their hybridization and overlap of morphological characteristics, identification of the Typha species based on morphology is unreliable. Molecular genetic techniques are a promising alternative to morphology for differentiating T. latifolia, T. angustifolia, and T. x glauca, and we have identified four microsatellite primer pairs that appear to be diagnostic among the Midwestern Typha species. We have tested the variability of these primer pairs in 28 populations of each species, and we have compared their effectiveness relative to morphological methods to differentiate the three species from populations in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. In addition, we have estimated the rate of occurrence of advanced-generation hybrids. At each field site, we identified the Typha species based on leaf width and the distance between male and female inflorescences, and we collected leaf tissue from at least five individuals. We extracted DNA using Qiagen DNeasy® Plant Mini Kits, amplified the four diagnostic microsatellite primer pairs using a two step Polymerase Chain Reaction protocol, and visualized the results using a Beckman Coulter gene sequencer. The microsatellite markers differentiated the three different species, and revealed a relatively high level of advanced-generation hybrids (26.6%). Our morphological identification did not match our molecular identification using microsatellite markers approximately 60.2% of the time, suggesting that morphological identification is not reliable as a sole method of cattail species identification. We are developing additional microsatellite primer pairs, and expanding the geographic range of our study to further test the utility of the four microsatellite regions for differentiating T. latifolia, T. angustifolia, and T. x glauca. We hope these protocols will be useful to environmental managers when attempting to restore areas heavily invaded by invasive cattail species. Broader Impacts:
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1 - Northeastern Illinois University, Department of Biology, 5500 N. St. Louis Ave., Northeastern Illinois University , chicago, IL, 60625, United States
2 - Northeastern Illinois University, 5500 North St. Louis Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60625, USA
Keywords:
hybridization
invasive species
microsatellites
Typha.
Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Topics
Session: 30
Location: Marlborough A/Riverside Hilton
Date: Tuesday, July 30th, 2013
Time: 1:30 PM
Number: 30001
Abstract ID:825
Candidate for Awards:None |
