Genetic Structure of Melampsora Epitea Populations in Swedish Salix Viminalis Plantations

Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) was used to study the genetic structure of populations of the willow leaf rust, Melampsora epitea, in Swedish willow plantations. In total, 197 isolates collected from Salix viminalis clones in three locations in Sweden were analysed. AFLP profiles based on 83 markers were used to compute genetic distances between pairs of individuals. High levels of gene and genotypic diversity were detected in all populations, with 96% of the AFLP loci being polymorphic and with normalized Shannon's diversity indices ranging from 0.977 to 1.0. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) showed small significant differences among locations, although most of the molecular variability was found within locations (97.5%). Five isolates from one willow clone in one location differed markedly from the common pattern. When these five exceptional isolates were excluded, no significant differences among willow clones were found with AMOVA. Sexual reproduction and spore migration appear to be important factors for the population genetic structure of this pathogen.