Microsatellite analysis of Pinus taeda L. in Zimbabwe

Deducing the origin of early 20th century introductions of Pinus taeda into Zimbabwe is possible given microsatellite markers and clear population differentiation in ancestral U.S. populations. This study was designed to determine whether P. taeda introductions into Zimbabwe came from one U.S. region or whether the present-day population is an admixture of introductions from east and west of the Mississippi River Valley. Principal components analysis, Cavalli-Sforza and Edwards' chord distances and presence of diagnostic alleles each indicate that the Zimbabwe population is an admixture. There were five novel alleles in the Zimbabwe population not represented in the indigenous U.S. populations, possibly because of de novo mutation, introgression with other introduced North American pines or sampling error.