DIFFERENTIATION AMONG NINE POPULATIONS OF PHLOX. I. ELECTROPHORETIC AND QUANTITATIVE VARIATION

The organization of genetic variation in Phlox drummondii was investigated using both allozyme electrophoresis and quantitative genetics. Variation at five polymorphic enzyme loci was characterized in nine populations, and variation in 16 morphological and life-history characters was examined using an analysis of full- and half-sibs in seven populations. Significant levels of genetic variation were found at enzyme loci and for metric characters. Significant heritabilities were observed for 15 of the 16 characters examined. Genetic differences among populations were revealed both by Nei's genetic distance and by phenotypic differences, summarized by discriminant analysis. Partitioning variance in allozyme frequencies among hierarchical levels of genetic organization indicated that 94% of this variance lay within populations, 4% between populations within varieties, and 2% between varieties. Partitioning phenotypic variance for metric characters indicated that 73% lay within populations, 24% lay between populations within varieties, and 3% lay between varieties. Thus, both electrophoretic and metric characters indicated that despite extensive genetic differentiation among populations, most of the evolutionary potential of the species lies within populations.