Intraspecific Chloroplast DNA Variations of the Alpine Plants in Japan

Abstract

To obtain more information on the genetic differentiation of Japanese alpine plants, intraspecific variations of chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) of 23 species were investigated. We examined the samples from the populations in Central Honshu, Tohoku, and Hokkaido, Japan; and in Sakhalin, Russia. In the nucleotide sequence of two non-coding regions (trnT-trnL-trnF region and rpl16 intron) of cpDNA, the intraspecific variations were detected in all species, except Carex scita. The species with a relatively high proportion of mutational events (including indels) were Anemone narcissiflora (0.90%), Arenaria arctica (0.74%), Geum calthifolium (0.86%), Hypericum kamtschaticum (1.04%), Pedicularis yezoensis (1.18%), and Trollius riederianus (0.77%).