Amaryllis Vidalis1, Aristotelis Papageorgiou2, Seraphim Hatziskakis2, Ioannis Tsiripidis3, Oliver Gailing1, Reiner Finkeldey1 1 Department of Forest Genetics and Forest Tree Breeding, Büsgen Institute, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Büsgenweg 2, 37077 Göttingen, Germany 2 Department of Forestry, Environment and Natural Resources, Democritus University of Thrace, P.O. Box 129, Pantazidou 193, 68200 Orestiada, Greece 3 School of Biology, Department of Botany, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece Patterns of genetic diversity in Fagus sylvatica L. in Rodopi Mountains of N.E. Greece PL LL LW LMW LA LP NS AN LI MWI PI RC Elatia 0,95 7,86 4,85 4,02 25,97 19,07 8,00 36,41 163,00 51,16 12,11 1,06 Echinos 0,88 8,56 5,21 4,59 30,74 20,78 9,60 38,48 166,00 53,59 10,31 1,07 Papikio 0,97 8,74 5,33 4,68 31,56 21,15 9,20 38,48 165,00 53,32 11,03 1,07 Dadia 0,83 8,73 5,22 4,62 31,10 20,92 9,30 37,37 168,00 52,81 9,56 1,08 Table 1. Average values of morphological traits measured per population 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Dadia Papikio Echinos Elatia ФT1 ФT2 ФT3 Figure 2. Phylotypes frequencies within populations Hs Ht Gst AFLPs 0,234 0,255 0,089 cpDNA haplotypes 0,551 0,925 0,405 Elatia Echinos Papikio Dadia Number of polymorphic zones AFLPs 26 26 28 33 Percentage of polymorphic zones AFLPs 76,47 76,47 82,35 97,06 Expected heterozygosity - AFLPs 0,212 0,213 0,243 0,269 Haplotypes numbers - cpDNA 3 4 8 9 Expected "heterozygosity" - cpDNA 0,153 0,438 0,707 0,813 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Dadia Papikio Echinos Elatia 145-115 146-110 146-115 147-110 147-115 148-110 148-115 149-110 150-110 151-110 152-110 153-110 154-110 156-110 Table 2. Diversity and differentiation of populations (Nei 1987) Table 3. Genetic diversity within populations Figure 3. Frequences of cpDNA haplotypes According to the most accepted taxonomic classification of beech in Europe, Fagus sylvatica can be subdivided into two subspecies (ssp. sylvatica and ssp. orientalis) [1]. The current beech populations of Europe may have a common origin from refugial populations which survived the last glaciation's era [2]. The wider area of Greek Rodopi is being considered as potential refugium for European beech [3]. In previous research, high variation in morphological traits was found in Greek beech populations. At molecular level, variation has been generally found higher in the Mediterranean part of Fagus sylvatica distribution, as compared to that found in central and western European populations [4]. Specifically, in cpDNA of beech, former research has revealed no or minor polymorphism in large areas of its natural distribution [4]. Material and methods PL Petiole length LL Lamina length LW Lamina width LMW Distance between the lower part of the lamina and the maximum width point on the axis LA Lamina area LP Lamina perimeter NS Number of secondary nerves AN Angle between the primary and the central secondary nerve Morphological traits Molecular markers AFLPs [5] Primer pairs Restriction enzymes EcoRI- MseI Preselective amplification E01/M03 (Keygene) Selective reaction E37/M68 LI LL/LW · 100 MWI LMW/LL · 100 PI PL/LL · 100 RC Radius of a cycle with an area equal to LA divided by the radius of a cycle having a perimeter equal to LP DNA was extracted from buds using the DNeasy® Plant Kit (Qiagen) Results Morphological traits Molecular markers Elatia Echinos Papikio Dadia Elatia 0 6,068 4,966 1,522 Echinos 0,04 0 0,276 3,619 Papikio 0,07 0,03 0 3,028 Dadia 0,056 0,018 0,013 0 Conclusions • The beech populations of Rodopi mountains show high levels of genetic diversity within populations in leaf morphological traits, AFLPs and cpSSRs • The levels of genetic variation within populations were found high compared to previous surveys in European populations • Clinal variation patterns were observed at both morphological traits and molecular markers; variation increases from the west to the east • Differentiation among populations was, as expected, stronger at mater