Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jn8rn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T23:47:11.343Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Genetic diversity of giant reed (Arundo donax) in the Santa Ana River, California

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Jenjit Khudamrongsawat
Affiliation:
Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521
Rana Tayyar
Affiliation:
Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521

Abstract

Giant reed is one of the most widespread invasive species in riparian habitats in California and other coastal states of the United States. This species is thought to spread primarily asexually by flood dispersal of stem and rhizome pieces; viable seeds have not been found in the United States. Research was conducted to quantify genetic variation in giant reed along the Santa Ana River in California and to investigate the pattern of distribution of variation along this watershed. Populations at least 3.2 km apart were collected along the length of the Santa Ana River from the headwaters to the Pacific Ocean. One additional population from a different watershed was collected to serve as an out-group. Genetic analyses were conducted using both starch gel electrophoresis for isozyme analysis and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis. Both isozyme and RAPD analyses revealed levels of genetic diversity comparable with those in the literature for clonal species, suggesting that asexual reproduction is the primary means of spread of giant reed. Most phenotypes were spread along the Santa Ana River, which is expected if water is the primary means of spread of vegetative propagules. Among the unique phenotypes found, two isozyme phenotypes and one RAPD phenotype were dominant and were found spread along the river, which may indicate greater fitness or competitive superiority to the other phenotypes that were less common. The dominant phenotypes were also found in the out-group population, possibly because of spread by humans. Because spread occurs mainly asexually, management efforts should focus on preventing establishment and spread of vegetative propagules. A moderate level of genetic diversity also suggests that biological control of this weed could be successful.

Type
Weed Biology and Ecology
Copyright
Copyright © Weed Science Society of America 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Literature Cited

Antolin, M. F. and Strobeck, C. 1985. The population genetics of somatic mutations in plants. Am. Nat 126:5262.Google Scholar
Ayres, D. R. and Ryan, F. J. 1997. The clonal and population structure of a rare endemic plant, Wyethia reticulata (Asteraceae): allozyme and RAPD analysis. Mol. Ecol 6:761772.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baker, H. G. 1965. Characteristics and modes of origin of weeds. Pp. 147172. in Baker, H. G. and Stebbins, G. L., eds. The Genetics of Colonizing Species. New York: Academic.Google Scholar
Barrett, S. C. B. 1982. Genetic variation in weeds. Pages 78112 in Charudattan, R. and Walker, H. L. eds. Biological Control of Weeds with Plant Pathogens. New York: J. Wiley.Google Scholar
Barrett, S. C. B. 1992. Genetics of weed invasions. Pages 91120 in Jain, S. K. and Botsford, L. W. eds. Applied Population Biology. Dordrecht: Kluwer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bell, G. P. 1997. Ecology and management of Arundo donax, and approaches to riparian habitat restoration in southern California. Pages 103113 in Brock, J. H., Wade, M., Pysek, P., and Green, D. eds. Plant Invasion: Studies from North America and Europe. Leiden, The Netherlands: Backhuys.Google Scholar
Boose, A. B. and Holt, J. S. 1999. Environmental effects on asexual reproduction in Arundo donax . Weed Res 39:117127.Google Scholar
Botsford, L. W. and Jain, S. K. 1992. Population biology and its application to practical problems. Pages 124 in Jain, S. K. and Botsford, L. W. eds. Applied Population Biology. Dordrecht: Kluwer.Google Scholar
Burdon, J. J., Groves, R. H., and Cullen, J. M. 1980. The impact of biological control on the distribution and abundance of Chondrilla juncea in southeastern Australia. J. Appl. Ecol 18:957966.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burdon, J. J. and Marshall, D. R. 1981. Biological control and the reproductive mode of weeds. J. Appl. Ecol 18:649658.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bush, S. P. and Mulcahy, D. L. 1999. The effects of regeneration by fragmentation upon clonal diversity in the tropical forest shrub Poikilacanthus macranthus: random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) results. Mol. Ecol 8:865870.Google Scholar
Decruyenaere, J. G. and Holt, J. S. 2001. Seasonality of clonal propagation in giant reed. Weed Sci 49:760767.Google Scholar
Diggle, P. K., Lower, S., and Ranker, T. A. 1998. Clonal diversity in alpine populations of Polygonum viviparum (Polygonaceae). Int. J. Plant Sci 159:606615.Google Scholar
Dudley, T. L. 2000. Arundo donax L. Pages 5358 in Bossard, C. C., Randall, J. M., and Hoshovsky, M. C. eds. Invasive Plants of California's Wildlands. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Ellstrand, N. C. and Roose, M. L. 1987. Patterns of genotypic diversity in clonal plant species. Am. J. Bot 74:123131.Google Scholar
Else, J. A. 1996. Post-flood establishment of native woody species and an exotic, Arundo donax, in a southern California riparian system. . San Diego State University, San Diego. 73 p.Google Scholar
Eppley, S. M., Stanton, M. L., and Grosberg, R. K. 1998. Intrapopulation sex ratio variation in the salt grass Distichlis spicata . Am. Nat 152:659670.Google Scholar
Esselman, E. J., Jianqiang, L., Crawford, D. J., Windus, J. L., and Wolfe, A. D. 1999. Clonal diversity in the rare Calamagrostis porteri spp. insperata (Poaceae): comparative results for allozymes and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and intersimple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers. Mol. Ecol 8:443451.Google Scholar
Fernando, D. D. and Cass, D. D. 1996. Genotypic differentiation in Butomus umbellatus (Butomaceae) using isozymes and random amplified polymorphic DNAs. Can. J. Bot 74:647652.Google Scholar
Fischer, B. B., Lange, A. H., McCaskill, J., Crampton, B., and Talbraham, B. 1978. Grower's Weed Identification Handbook No. 4030. Berkeley, CA: Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California.Google Scholar
Fischer, M., Husi, R., Prati, D., Peintinger, M., van Kleunen, M., and Schmid, B. 2000. RAPD variation among and within small and large populations of the rare clonal plant Ranunculus repens (Ranunculaceae). Am. J. Bot 87:11281137.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frandsen, P. 1997. Team Arundo: interagency cooperation to control giant cane (Arundo donax). Pages 244248 in Luken, J. O. and Thieret, J. W. eds. Assessment and Management of Plant Invasions. New York: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gabrielsen, T. M. and Brochmann, C. 1998. Sex after all: high level of diversity detected in the arctic clonal plant Saxifraga cernua using RAPD markers. Mol. Ecol 7:17011708.Google Scholar
Garvin, D. F. 1987. The inheritance and linkage of isozyme genes in tepary bean, Phaseolus acutifolius A. Gray. . University of California, Riverside, CA. 63 p.Google Scholar
Haldane, D. September 16, 1995. Waging war on a green invader; Arundo donax is a thirsty monster that's choking the Santa Ana River. Los Angeles Times Sect. Metro Part B: 1.Google Scholar
Holt, J. S. 1994. Genetic variation in life history traits in yellow nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus) from California. Weed Sci 42:378384.Google Scholar
Horak, M. J. and Holt, J. S. 1986. Isozyme variability and breeding systems in populations of yellow nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus). Weed Sci 34:538543.Google Scholar
Hoshovsky, M. 1987. Arundo donax Elemental Stewardship Abstract. San Francisco, CA: The Nature Conservancy. 10 p.Google Scholar
Keller, B. E. M. 2000. Genetic variation among and within populations of Phragmites australis in the Charles River watershed. Aquat. Bot 66:195208.Google Scholar
Kreher, S. A., Fore, S. A., and Collins, B. S. 2000. Genetic variation within and among patches of the clonal species, Vaccinium stamineum L. Mol. Ecol 9:12471252.Google Scholar
Liu, Z. and Furnier, G. R. 1993. Comparison of allozyme, RFLP, and RAPD markers for revealing genetic variation within and between trembling aspen and bigtooth aspen. Theor. Appl. Genet 87:97105.Google Scholar
McBride, M. March 7, 1998. Calvert touts plan to kill river arundo; the Republican led a group to the Santa Ana to tout his plan to exterminate the non-native cane. The Riverside Press—Enterprise Sect. Local: B1.Google Scholar
McLellan, A. J., Prati, D., Kaltz, O., and Schmid, B. 1997. Structure and analysis of phenotypic and genetic variation in clonal plants. Pages 185210 in de Kroon, H. and van Groenendael, J. eds. The Ecology and Evolution of Clonal Plants. Leiden, the Netherlands: Backhuys.Google Scholar
Miles, D. H., Tunsuwan, K., Chittawong, V., Kokpol, U., Choudhary, M. I., and Clardy, J. 1993. Boll weevil antifeedants from Arundo donax . Phytochemistry 34:12771279.Google Scholar
Murray, D. R. and Ayre, D. J. 1987. Isoenzymes from hulls and seeds of developing pea fruit. J. Plant Physiol 127:193201.Google Scholar
Nei, M. 1978. Estimation of average heterozygosity and genetic distance from a small number of individuals. Genetics 89:583590.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
O'Malley, D., Wheeler, N. C., and Guries, R. P. 1980. A Manual for Starch Gel Electrophoresis. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin, Department of Forestry Staff Paper Series 11.Google Scholar
Palacio, C. and Gonzales-Candelas, F. 1997. Analysis of population genetic structure and variability using RAPD markers in the endemic and endangered Limonium dufourii (Plumbaginaceae). Mol. Ecol 6:11071121.Google Scholar
Parker, E. D. Jr. 1979. Ecological implications of clonal diversity in parthenogenetic morphospecies. Am. Zool 19:753762.Google Scholar
Pedersen, S. and Simonsen, V. 1987. Tissue specificity and developmental expression of isozymes in barley (Hordeum vulgare L). Hereditas 106:5966.Google Scholar
Persson, H. A. and Gustavsson, B. A. 2001. The extent of clonality and genetic diversity in lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.) revealed by RAPD and leaf-shape analysis. Mol. Ecol 10:13851397.Google Scholar
Polunin, O. and Huxley, A. 1987. Flowers of the Mediterranean. London: Hogarth. P. 199.Google Scholar
Rieger, J. P. and Kreager, D. A. 1989. Giant reed (Arundo donax): a climax community of the riparian zone. Pages 222225 in Abell, D. L., technical coordinator. Proceedings of the California Riparian Systems Conference: Protection, Management, and Restoration for the 1990s; September 22–24, 1988; Davis, CA. Berkeley, CA: Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, General Technical Rep. PSW-110.Google Scholar
Rolf, F. J. 1993. Numerical Taxonomy and Multivariate Analysis System. Version 1.80. New York: Setanket.Google Scholar
Soltis, D. E., Haufler, C. H., Darrow, D. C., and Gastory, G. J. 1983. Starch gel electrophoresis of fern: a compilation of grinding buffers, gel and electrode buffers, and staining schedules. Am. Fern J 73:927.Google Scholar
Soltis, D. E. and Soltis, P. S. 1990. Isozymes in Plant Biology. Portland, OR: Dioscorides. Pp. 4672.Google Scholar
State of California Department of Water Resources Division of Resources Planning. 1959. Santa Ana River Investigation. Bulletin No. 15. 207 p.Google Scholar
Steinger, T., Korner, C., and Schmid, B. 1996. Long-term persistence in a changing climate: DNA analysis suggests very old ages of clones of alpine Carex curvula . Oecologia 105:9499.Google Scholar
Suzuki, J., Herben, T., Krahutec, F., and Hara, T. 1999. Size and spatial pattern of Festuca rubra genets in a mountain grassland: its relevance to genet establishment and dynamics. J. Ecol 87:942954.Google Scholar
Sydes, M. A. and Peakall, R. 1998. Extensive clonality in the endangered shrub Haloragodendron lucasii (Haloragaceae) revealed by allozymes and RAPDs. Mol. Ecol 7:8793.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tracy, J. L. and DeLoach, C. J. 1999. Suitability of classical biological control for giant reed (Arundo donax) in the United States. Pages 73109 in Bell, C. R. ed. Arundo and Saltcedar: The Deadly Duo. Proceedings of the Arundo and Saltcedar Workshop; June 18, 1998; Ontario, CA. Holtville, CA: UC Cooperative Extension.Google Scholar
Tsegaye, S., Tessema, T., and Belay, J. 1996. Relationships among tetraploid wheat (Triticum turgidum L.) landrace populations revealed by isozyme markers and agronomic traits. Theor. Appl. Genet 93:600605.Google Scholar
USGS. 1998. Western Wetland Flora: Field Office Guide to Plant Species. www.npwrc.usgs.gov/rresoruce/othrdata/westflor/sppecies/2/arundona.htm.Google Scholar
Watkinson, A. R. and Powell, J. C. 1993. Seedling recruitment and the maintenance of clonal diversity in plant populations—a computer simulation of Ranunculus repens . J. Ecol 81:707717.Google Scholar
Weir, B. S. 1990. Genetic Data Analysis. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates. Pp. 261289.Google Scholar
Widén, B., Cronberg, N., and Widén, M. 1994. Genotypic diversity, molecular markers and spatial distribution of genets in clonal plants, a literature survey. Folia Geobot. Phytotaxon. Praha 29:245263.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yeh, F. C., Chong, D. K. X., and Yang, R. C. 1995. RAPD variation within and among natural populations of trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx). J. Hered 86:454460.Google Scholar