Chin J Plant Ecol ›› 2007, Vol. 31 ›› Issue (6): 1181-1189.DOI: 10.17521/cjpe.2007.0147

Special Issue: 生物多样性

• Research Articles • Previous Articles     Next Articles

CHANGES OF CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LEAF EPIDERMIS AND GENETIC DIVERSITY OF CARAGANA DAVAZAMCII IN DIFFERENT HABITATS IN ERDOS PLATEAU, CHINA

YANG Ming-Bo1,2(), YANG Jie1, YANG Jiu-Yan1,3, LIANG Na3, QING Hua1   

  1. 1College of Life Sciences, Inner Mongolia University, Huhhot 010021, China
    2College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
    3Department of Drug Botany, Inner Mongolia Medical College, Huhhot 010059, China
  • Received:2006-04-06 Accepted:2007-02-03 Online:2007-04-06 Published:2007-11-30

Abstract:

Aims Although Caragana davazamcii is an important nitrogen-fixing plant in North China, few studies have focused on its epidermal structure and genetic diversity along a precipitation gradient. Our aims are to determine how changes of epidermal structure of C. davazamcii leaves are related to changes of genetic diversity in different habitats, what role environments play in this relationship, and whether these populations have potential to become adapted to their local environments in different ways.

Methods We established 20 m×20 m plots along the precipitation gradient and randomly collected leaves ofC. davazamcii from natural populations. We studied leaf epidermal structure using a light microscope (LM) and a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and used ISSR-PCR genetic diversity analysis to study differentiation among populations.

Important findings The leaf epidermis of C. davazamcii in different habitats was significantly different as a result of environmental effects. Trichome density, stomatal density, stomatal index and cuticle coarseness increased with changes in average annual rainfall from east to west, as did genetic diversity of populations. Caragana davazamcii showed significant phenotypic plasticity in different habitats, and this may play a critical role in the ecological adaptability of C. davazamcii populations.

Key words: Erdos Plateau, Caragana davazamcii, epidermis characteristic, genetic diversity