ALLOZYME VARIATION OF INDIGENOUS DOUGLAS-FIR [PSEUDOTSUGA-MENZIESII (MIRB) FRANCO] POPULATIONS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS IN GERMANY)

Twenty-three populations of autochthonous Douglas-fir from British Col umbia and Washington and from their descendants field-tested in the IU FRO-provenance trial at German sites were sampled to document early ge netical impacts of species translocation. Tissue of vegetative buds wa s surveyed for allozyme variation at five loci. Coastal varieties reve aled higher allozyme variation than interior populations. Allele frequ encies mere not significantly different in North American populations versus German cohorts. Unique allozymes were both detected in native a nd translocated populations. All loci studied were characterized by mi nor polymorphisms (frequency of the most common allele greater than 0. 9) and therefore aggravate conclusions. Based on the comparably small number of marker genes that were used and the limited time during evol ution could act there is no evidence that a translocation imposes diff erent evolutionary forces detectable at the loci under study. Reasons for this lack of noticeable genetic differentiation between native and translocated Douglas-fir populations are discussed.