Poster 7: The dynamic nature of introgressive hybridisation in natural and introduced polyploid plants from agricultural and riparian landscapes: an evaluation of molecular tools in willows (EU-project DYNAMO)

The main objective of this EU-research project (DYNAMO) is to use molecular tools as screening methods to determine the genetic identity of polyploïd and introgressed populations. The use of different complementary approaches on the same carefully sampled material will enable accurate appraisal of the usefulness of different techniques in:

(i) genotyping polyploid individuals; (ii) revealing hybrid identity, and; (iii) estimating the extent of introgression in natural populations, all of which are very important issues in conservation genetics. The molecular tools that are included as screening methods in this study are: 1) a selection of AFLPs (Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphisms) and RAPDs (Random Amplified Polymorphic DNAs); 2) enzyme consensus primers of conserved sequences; 3) nuclear SSRs (Simple Sequence Repeats); 4) cpDNA (chloroplast) and mtDNA (mitochondrial) sequence analysis; 5) cp SSRs (chloroplast SimpleSequence Repeats). Different molecular tools have been tested on this material coming from full-sib crosses as well as from natural and planted stands along different European rivers. The use of co-dominant markers is very promising to describe patterns of hybridisation at a local scale, while both the dominant markers and haplotypic markers are promising to describe patterns at a larger regional scale.