Species-specific SSR alleles for studies of hybrid cattails (Typha latifolia x T. angustifolia, Typhaceae) in North America.
Abstract
Premise - Studies of hybridizing species are facilitated by the availability of species-specific molecular markers for identifying early- and later-generation hybrids. Cattails are a dominant feature of wetland communities, and a better understanding of the prevalence of hybrids is needed for assessing the ecological and evolutionary effects of hybridization.
Hybridizing Typha angustifolia and T. latifolia produce long-lived clones known as Typha x glauca, which are considered to be invasive. Although morphological variation in cattails makes it difficult to recognize early- and later-generation hybrids, several dominant, species-specific RAPD markers are available.
Our goal was to find codominant, species-specific markers with greater polymorphism than RAPDs, to identify later-generation hybrids more efficiently. Methods - We screened nine SSR (simple sequence repeat) loci that were described from populations in Ukraine and we surveyed 31 cattail populations from the upper Midwest and eastern U