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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 56(3)

Generating genetic relatedness maps to improve the management of two rare orchid species

Linda M. Broadhurst A D , Paul K. Scannell B and Glen A. Johnson C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A CSIRO Plant Industry, GPO Box 1600, Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia.

B Albury City Council, PO Box 323, Albury, NSW 2640, Australia.

C Department Sustainability and Environment, 1 McCoy Street, Wodonga, Vic. 3690, Australia.

D Corresponding author. Email: Linda.Broadhurst@csiro.au

Australian Journal of Botany 56(3) 232-240 https://doi.org/10.1071/BT07101
Submitted: 26 May 2007  Accepted: 22 November 2007   Published: 21 May 2008

Abstract

Arachnorchis concolor and A. pilotensis are two rare orchid species with contrasting spatial distributions found in south-eastern Australia. A. concolor is known from ~220 plants, with the largest population found in southern central Victoria and the remaining smaller populations ~100 km north. Some taxonomic uncertainty surrounds the affiliations of these disjunct populations. A. pilotensis is known from ~100 plants in a single location near the Beechworth region of north-eastern Victoria. Small populations such as these can show extreme demographic and/or genetic constraints and careful management is required to ensure their long-term persistence. The present study used amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers to describe the levels of relatedness among plants from both species and to determine levels of genetic diversity for each species as well as levels of differentiation among A. concolor populations, to assist with species management. Species-level genetic diversity was lower in A. pilotensis (PLP 44%, Hj 0.182) than A. concolor (PLP 58.2%, Hj 0.202). Genetic diversity also varied among A. concolor populations but this does not appear to relate to population size. High levels of inbreeding were evident in A. concolor (f, 0.828) in contrast to moderate levels observed in A. pilotensis (f, 0.466). Genetic relatedness maps, generated by principal coordinates analyses, indicated significant differentiation among A. concolor populations with some sub-structuring also apparent within A. pilotensis. Management implications for the two species, with respect to sourcing of material for translocation and augmentation of pollination events within populations, are discussed in light of these findings.


Acknowledgements

We thank Eileen Collins, John Hawker and Alan Gibb for collecting leaf material for this study, Liz Gregory for technical assistance, and Gary Backhouse for extremely useful comments on the manuscript.


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