[Variability of Allozyme and cpSSR Markers in the Populations of Siberian Spruce].

The variability of 21 allozyme and three microsatellite loci of chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) was studied in the populations of Siberian spruce (Picea obovata Ledeb.) from Irkutsk oblast, Magadan oblast, Buryatia, and Mongolia. It was demonstrated that the highest level of genetic diversity among the examined populations at both allozyme and microsatellite loci was observed in the Tulyushka population from Irkutsk oblast. The lowest level of genetic diversity was observed in marginal isolated populations of Bogd Uul and Magadan. In the relict spruce population from Olkhon Island, differing from the other populations in the lowest allelic diversity of both types of markers, no expected decline of expected heterozygosity and haplotype diversity was observed. In this population, the variability parameters mentioned were close to the population mean. The obtained intrapopulation and intraspecific variability parameters of allozyme and microsatellite loci of chloroplast DNA and the data on the population differentiation at these loci indicate that the given markers can be used for the analysis of the population structure of Siberian spruce.

[Genetic Differentiation of the Three Species of Genus Astragalus L. of Section Cenantrum Bunge (Fabaceae)].

Genetic differentiation based on allozyme data was detected between species of the genus Astragalus L., section Cenantrum Bunge (Fabaceae): A.frigidus (L.) A. Gray s.l., A. mongholicus Bunge s. l, and A. sericeocanus Gontsch, which is endemic to the Northeast coast of Lake Baikal. The results of allozyme analysis confirm the natural division of the section into subsections based on morphological features. Differences between A. frigidus (subsection Elliptica Gontsch.) and A. mongholicus and A. sericeocanus (subsection Semilunaria Gontsch.) were observed. These differences were caused by the presence of species-specific alleles and the allele frequencies of the primary alleles, DN = 1.24. The genetic distance obtained for A. mongholicus and A. sericeocanus (0.10) corresponds to the status of closely related species of one subsection. Between populations of A. frigidus and between populations of A. mongholicus from the central part of areal, DN = 0.02 and 0.03 respectively. This genetic distance corresponds to the interpopulation level and was determined by the allele frequencies. The peripheral population of A. mongholicus is separated (DN = 0.36), which is probably due to the long isolation and the "founder effect."

[Microsatellite Loci polymorphism of chloroplast DNA of the pine tree (Pinus sylvestris L.) in Asia and Eastern Europe].

The variability of four microsatellite loci of chloroplast DNA was studied in 38 populations of Pinus sylvestris in the European part of Russia, Siberia, Kazakhstan, Transbaikalia and Mongolia. High variability was observed in all regions. In total, 152 haplotypes were identified. The level of population differentiation R(ST) was 2.1%. The differentiation of three geographical groups of populations (European, Siberian-Kazakhstan and Transbaikalian-Mongolian) was insignificant (R(CT) = 0.004%). At the same time, some rare haplotypes were found to be specific for a certain geographical region. Distribution of the rare haplotypes, which differentiated European populations from Asian populations and Mongolian and Transbaikalian populations from the Siberian, showed the independence of the history of these regions. This corresponds more to the hypothesis that the modern areal of Pinus sylvestris originated via settlement from many origins than to the hypothesized single center of the post-boulder-period of recolonization. The distribution of the pair differences between the individual specimens corresponded to the model of sudden population growth. The assessments of the age of this event for Pinus sylvestris (4.5-4.7 million years), which were obtained on the basis of this model, significantly exceeded the age of the quaternary period. Therefore, the revealed growth of populations is hardly due to the changes in flora related with the boulder-period, but rather mirrors the moment of the species formation.

[Genetic and phenotypic differentiation of Calluna vulgaris (L.) Hull in Pritobolie and Europe].

Geographic variation and differentiation of the chloroplast DNA haplotypes and morpho-anatomical leaf parameters were assessed in a number of eastern European groups of Calluna vulgaris (L.)Hull populations and in the Pritobolien group of populations of this species in Western Siberia, which have long been isolated from the European populations. Sharply pronounced genetic and phenotypic distances and their gradients between the Pritobolien and European population groups were revealed. These distances were many times higher than those between the relatively homogeneous eastern European groups. The data obtained generally supported the hypothesis on the phenogenetic divergence of the Pritobolien marginal populations of C. vulgaris from the European, probably at the subspecies level.

[Spread of mitochondrial DNA haplotypes in population of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) in northern European Russia].

The variability of the first intron of the nad7 gene of Scots pine mitochondrial DNA was investigated in 15 populations in northeast of European Russia and in three populations in Belarus, Sweden, and the Voronezh region. Restriction Fragments Length Polymorphism of the PCR product (PCR-RFLP) and sequencing were used. The investigated samples were compared with the populations studied previously. The haplotype, which is absolutely dominant in the eastern part of the Scots pine range, was fixed in the Kirov, Arkhangelsk, and Kostroma regions; Komi; and Chuvashia. The extreme northeastern discovery of an alternative haplotype that is present in most European populations and occurs the most frequently in eastern Scandinavia was made in the Vologda region. These results support the hypothesis that the population of Scots pine in northeast Russia and Fennoscandia originated from different glacial refugia.