Joint International Conference on Long-term Experiments ...

MORPHOLOGICAL AND AFLP VARIATION IN SOME GENOTYPES OF
POA ANGUSTIFOLIA L. AND POA HUMILIS EHRH. EX HOFFM.
Zsuzsa Lisztes-Szabó 1 , Ákos A. Zubor 2 , Béla Tóthmérész 3 ,
Mária Papp 4 , József Prokisch 2
1 Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Debrecen, H-4015, Debrecen, P. O. Box 36
2 Department of Food Science and Quality Assurance, University of Debrecen,
3 Department of Ecology, University of Debrecen, H-4015, Debrecen, P. O. Box 36
4 Department of Botany, University of Debrecen, H-4015, Debrecen, P. O. Box 36
ABSTRACT
Quantitative morphological characteristics of P. humilis and P. angustifolia individuals
collected from different habitats in Eastern Hungary were compared after growing at the
same site for three years. The individuals were also investigated using AFLP technique.
The study showed that the morphological plasticity of these species is considerable and
the quantitative morphological characteristics measured were of only limited usefulness
for taxonomic separation. There was no difference in utility between the vegetative and
reproductive features. AFLP analysis of genomic DNA showed a high degree of
polymorphism within the species. Eastern Hungarian populations of P. humilis and P.
angustifolia could not be distinguished on the basis of molecular characters using 3
AFLP primer combinations. The Poa pratensis L. species group demonstrates that in
cases of polymorphic taxa the genetic variability allows effective adaptation to slight
environmental changes.
Keywords: morphological characters, AFLP, transplantation, multivariate analysis
INTRODUCTION
Poa angustifolia L. and Poa humilis Ehrh. ex Hoffm. are among the most widespread
native grass species in Hungary and are widely used in cool season turfs and forage
grasses, with many known cultivars. P. angustifolia (or P. pratensis subsp. angustifolia)
and P. humilis belong to Poa pratensis L. aggregation. The species of this aggregation
differ in their leaf width and a few other – in some cases not obvious – morphological
features. Many individuals with intermediate morphological characters can be observed.
The morphological variability of P. pratensis genotypes is demonstrated by several
authors (Bonos et al., 2000; Frenot et al., 1999; Rua, 1996; Reader and Bonser, 1993).
The identification of the species within the P. pratensis aggregation is difficult and
accurate and reliable methods are necessary for distinguishing and characterising them.
Since the influence of environmental factors can be eliminated using molecular
approaches, the use of DNA based molecular markers is an effective method for the
separation of species. Recently, a PCR-based assay for plant DNA fingerprinting,
AFLP, has been developed which reveals significant levels of DNA polymorphism (Vos
et al., 1995).
The aim of this study is to contrast the morphological and genetic variability of P.
angustifolia and P. humilis populations collected from East Hungary to provide
additional information on the extent of genetic divergence. Individuals of P. humilis and
P. angustifolia collected from different habitats were cultivated in the same
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