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The Genetic Diversity of Cypripedium Reginae in a Fen in Strafford, Vt

AJAS · 2020 Plant Sciences (inferred)

Yuyang Sun · New Hampshire Science Academy

Overview

This experiment examines the genetic diversity of showy lady’s slippers (Cypripedium reginae) growing in the wild in a fen in Strafford, Vermont. Cyp. reginae is a critically endangered lady’s slipper orchid species in much of the northeast United States. Lady’s slippers are capable of reproducing by sexual or vegetative reproduction. There is speculation whether, in the few fens where showy lady’s slippers exist, the population is genetically diverse due to sexual reproduction or largely clonal through vegetative reproduction. A clonal population may be more susceptible to environmental stresses than a genetically diverse population. We had two hypotheses: 1) we could use primers on Cyp. reginae that had been used on another orchid of the same genus, Cypripedium tibeticum, and 2) the showy lady’s slippers in the same fen would largely be genetically similar. After performing PCR and gel electrophoresis on showy lady’s slipper DNA using different primers, it was found that the primer set M209 from the studies on Cyp. tibeticum also worked for showy lady’s slippers. This primer set targets a variable microsatellite region of the lady’s slipper genome. The post-PCR DNA samples were sent for DNA sequencing and the returned chromatograms were analyzed to assess the genetic diversity. No two samples analyzed showed high genetic similarity for the genomic region sequenced, and therefore none of the plants sampled, some of which were growing in close proximity with one another, were completely identical. The fact that variation is seen in a single ~120 base pair region suggests that the showy lady’s slippers have genetic differences throughout their genome. This would allow the population to be more resilient to environmental changes. Further analysis of additional genomic regions and with a larger plant sample size across multiple fens will be needed to acquire a more complete picture of genetic diversity in wild showy lady’s slippers.

Competition history

  • AJAS 2020 Category not listed

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Source: AAAS Annual Meeting (Confex) / American Junior Academy of Science

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