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Can clone size serve as a proxy for clone age? An exploration using microsatellite divergence in Populus tremuloides
1Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. ally@zoology.ubc.ca
Molecular Ecology
|January 15, 2009
Summary
Clone size in trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) is not a reliable indicator of age. Researchers used microsatellite mutation accumulation to accurately estimate clone age, revealing clone size is influenced by environmental factors, not just age.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Genetics
Background:
- Long-lived clonal plants, such as trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides), are often aged using clone size.
- Clone size can be influenced by environmental factors, potentially decoupling it from clone age.
- Accurate age estimation is crucial for understanding plant life history and population dynamics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a method for estimating clone age in trembling aspen using genetic markers.
- To assess the relationship between clone size and clone age in trembling aspen populations.
- To estimate the neutral somatic mutation rate at microsatellite loci in trembling aspen.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of genetic divergence at 14 microsatellite loci across trembling aspen clones.
- Modeling of mutation accumulation to establish pairwise genetic divergence as a clone age estimator.
- Statistical comparison of clone size with microsatellite divergence to evaluate size as an age proxy.
Main Results:
- Observed genetic divergence patterns supported a model of increasing ramet population size over time.
- Pairwise genetic divergence was successfully used as a reliable estimator of clone age.
- Clone size showed no significant relationship with microsatellite divergence, indicating it is not a good proxy for age.
Conclusions:
- Microsatellite divergence is a more accurate method for estimating clone age in trembling aspen than clone size.
- Clone size in trembling aspen is primarily influenced by environmental and biotic interactions, not solely by age.
- The estimated neutral somatic mutation rate for trembling aspen at 14 microsatellite loci ranges from 6 x 10(-7) to 4 x 10(-5) per locus per year.
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