Population differentiation in lodgepole pine, Pinus contorta spp. latifolia: a discriminant analysis of allozyme variation

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Abstract
Seeds from 17 populations representing most of the range of lodgepole pine in the Yukon and British Columbia [Canada] were analyzed for electrophoretically demonstrable variation in 16 proteins coded by 23 genetic loci. Consistent with that reported on genetic variation in this conifer, on the average, 64% of the loci per population were polymorphic, and expected and observed heterozygosity per population were 0.165 and 0.174, respectively. Univariate F-ratio tests for homogeneity among populations indicated genetic differentiation (P < 0.05) at 6 loci. Two significant (P < 0.05) canonical discriminant functions accounted for 38% of the total variance in the 20 polymorphic loci. A rich structure of genetic variation associated with geography was revealed. Both latitude and altitude appeared to be important, with northern populations exhibiting a greater extent of genetic differentiation.