A large-scale survey of genetic variation and genome evolution within the invasive Reynoutria complex : [streszczenie]

Abstract

The taxa from the genus Reynoutria: R. japonica, R. sachalinensis, originating from Asia, and their hybrid R. ×bohemica are some of the most troublesome alien invasive species in Europe and North America, particularly dangerous to riparian ecosystems. Simultaneously, these taxa constitute a unique model system for the creation of hybrids and the initiation of evolutionary processes in an invaded range. The aim of the study was: (i) to examine the level of genetic diversity using Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) markers in selected populations of three Reynoutria taxa from Poland, Hungary, Ukraine and Slovakia in comparison with Japan, (ii) to identify marked chromosomes in all taxa using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with rDNA sequences, and (iii) to establish genome size and ploidy level in the knotweed species using flow cytometry (FCM) (Fragment tekstu).