Spatial distribution of allozyme polymorphisms following clonal and sexual reproduction in populations of Rhus javanica (Anacardiaceae).

Rhus javanica L. (Anacardiaceae), a dioecious tree with both sexual reproduction and clonal growth, is widely distributed in warm temperate, subtropical, and tropical regions in east Asia. We used allozyme loci and spatial autocorrelation statistics to examine clonal structure and the spatial distribution of allozyme polymorphisms in two Korean populations. Populations of the species maintain moderate levels of allozyme variability (mean He=0.175, GST=0.060), and high levels of multilocus genotypic diversity (mean DG=0.971). Clone-pair distances ranged from 1.4 m to 57.4 m, and had high mean values of 24.0 m and 25.6 m in the two study populations. Approximate genetic patch widths were inferred to be 23-25 m. The results indicated that within populations there is moderate (one study population) or no (other study population) spatial genetic structure among sexually reproduced individuals, and vegetatively reproduced genotypes also are almost randomly distributed. The spatial genetic structure among sexually reproduced trees in the one case is probably caused by limited pollen dispersal in that population, and the lack of structure in the other probably results from the short time elapsed since founding. It appears that clonal reproduction also does not contribute substantially to genetic isolation by distance neither among the sexually reproduced individuals nor the total population. Ramets often establish long distances from their progenitors and thus do not substantially increase the degree of local consanguineous matings.