WOLFE, ANDREA D.1*, REBECCA REILAND1, CHRISTOPHER P. RANDLE1, FRANK J. SMITH2, and PAUL G. WOLF3. 1Department of EEOB, The Ohio State University; 2Western Ecological Services, Inc.; 3Department of Biology, Utah State University. - Conservation genetics of Penstemon bicolor ssp. bicolor.
Penstemon bicolor ssp. bicolor is endemic to the Spring
Mountains of Clark County, Nevada. It has been designated a sensitive
species threatened by urban growth in the Las Vegas Valley, which is
resulting in habitat degradation and loss. We used ISSR markers to
assess the amount of genetic diversity present in populations of P.
bicolor ssp. bicolor, and we compared the genetic diversity
of ssp. bicolor to the widely distributed ssp. roseus.
Two hundred ninety five individuals from seven populations of P.
bicolor ssp. bicolor, six populations of P. bicolor
ssp. roseus, and several populations of P. palmeri were
used in the survey. Our results suggest that the amount of genetic
divergence between the two subspecies of P. bicolor is
relatively low and that average similarity between subspecies is the
same as within subspecies.
Key words: conservation genetics, Inter-SSR, ISSR, molecular markers, Penstemon, Scrophulariaceae