Employment of Irish Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera royle) DNA microsatellites for Lithuania populations

Abstract

Due to quick ability to adapt to new habitats Himalayan Balsam (Impatiens glandulifera) has become invasive in almost all Europe. In many countries of Europe this species has been precisely studied examining morphological, physiological, biochemical, cytogenetical and molecular features. Wider studies of Lithuanian I. glandulifera are missing, especially in the field of biochemistry and molecular genetics. Pilot studies of genetic structure employing Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA method (RAPD) revealed significant genetic differentiation of I. glandulifera populations in Lithuania (ΦPT = 0.511). The objective of this study was to select microsatellite DNA primers for evaluation of molecular diversity of Lithuania populations of Himalayan Balsam. Among seven tested primers six (IGNSSR101/EF025990, IGNSSR104/EF025992, IGNSSR106/EF025993, IGNSSR203/EF025994, IGNSSR210/EF025995, IGNSSR240/EF025997) appeared to be valuable for investigation for Lithuania populations. Primers generated scorable DNA fragments and were used for examination of Himalayan Balsam populations differing in geography or habitats. Our results revealed that chosen microsatellite primers are valuable for evaluation of molecular diversity between populations.