Genetic variability in Apurimacia dolichocarpa (Fabaceae), a narrow endemic species of Córdoba Hills, Argentina

Abstract

Apurimacia dolichocarpa (Fabaceae) is a narrow endemic species, restricted to Córdoba Hills, Argentina. At present, only two populations are known. In order to analyse the level and distribution of its genetic variability, allele frequencies in 16 loci coding for enzymes were estimated from starch gel electrophoresis patterns. The levels of genetic diversity (P99% = 56.25, A = 1.81, He = 0.1125) are higher than the mean for endemic species reported in the literature. The low level of genetic differentiation between the two populations (θ = 0.04) may be the result of a recent fragmentation of an ancestral panmictic population. Apurimacia dolichocarpa does not appear as threatened from the genetic viewpoint, given that its populations preserve a moderate level of allozymic polymorphism. Artificial establishment of intermediate populations would facilitate pollen dispersal, a strategy that could favour the maintenance of the polymorphism levels.