Genetic Variation in Running Buffalo Clover (Trifoflium stofoniferum, Fabaceae)

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Abstract
Starch gel electrophoresis was used to examine the genetic variation in four species of Trifolium Two of these, T. stoloniferum and T. reflexum, are native, and, in Ohio at least, are considered rare. The genetic variation in these species was compared with that of two nonnative taxa, T. hybridum and T. pratense, which have similar life‐history characteristics. The only known Ohio population of T. reflexum was completely homozygous across 14 loci. Three of the 20 loci examined for T. stoloniferum showed variation, with an average of 1. 10 alleles per locus. Trifolium hybridurn and T. pratense showed variation at 53.3% of the loci resolved with an average of 1.73 and 1.93 alleles per locus, respectively. Analyses of genetic structure show considerable differences between T. stoloniferum and the two nonnative species. In T. stoloniferum 33.9% of the genetic variation is partitioned between populations, in contrast to 11.9% and 8.5% for T. hybridum and T. pratense Genetic data suggest that gene flow in the endangered T. stoloniferum is severely limited, even across very short distances, and that conservation efforts should minimally include the preservation of genetic variation residing among various populations.