Genetic structure and evolution of species in the mangrove genus Avicennia (Avicenniaceae) in the Indo-West Pacific

Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
Duke, Norman C.;Benzie, John A.H.;Goodall, John A.;Ballment, Elizabeth R.
Abstract

Allozyme variation in species of the mangrove genus Avicennia was screened in 25 populations collected from 22 locations in the Indo-West Pacific and eastern North America, using 11 loci. Several fixed gene differences supported the specific status of A. alba, A. integra, A. marina and A. rumphiana from the Indo-West Pacific, and A. germinans from the Atlantic-East Pacific. The three varieties of A. marina, var. marina, var. eucalyptifolia and var. australasica, had higher genetic similarities (Nei's I) and no fixed gene differences, confirming their conspecific status. Strong genetic structuring was observed in A. marina, with sharp changes in gene frequencies at the geographical margins of varietal distributions. The occurrence of alleles found otherwise in only one variety, in only immediately adjacent populations of another variety, provided evidence of introgession between varieties. The varieties appear to have diverged recently in the Pleistocene and are apparently not of ancient Cretaceous origin, as suggested earlier. Despite evidence of high degrees of outcrossing, gene flow among populations was relatively low (Nem = <1-2), except where populations were geographically continuous, questioning assumptions that these widespread mangrove species achieve high levels of long-distance dispersal.

Journal

Evolution

Publication Name

Evolution: international journal of organic evolution

Volume

52

ISBN/ISSN

1558-5646

Edition

N/A

Issue

6

Pages Count

15

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Publisher

Wiley-Blackwell

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EISSN

N/A

DOI

10.2307/2411335