ECOGEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION AND DIFFERENTIAL ADAPTEDNESS OF MULTILOCUS ALLELIC ASSOCIATIONS IN SPANISH AVENA-SATIVA L

We determined the nine-locus isozyme genotype of 267 landrace accessio ns of Avena sativa from 31 provinces of Spain. Our results establish t hat level of genetic variability is usually high both within and among accessions of this heavily self-fertilizing hexaploid grass and that multilocus genetic structure differs in various ecogeographical region s of Spain. We concluded that selection favoring different multilocus genotypes in different environments was the main integrating force tha t shaped the internal genetic structure of local populations as well a s the overall adaptive landscape of A. sativa in Spain. Implications i n genetic resource conservation and utilization are discussed.