LACK OF GENETIC-VARIABILITY IN THE RARE AND ENDANGERED LIMONIUM-CAVANILLESII (PLUMBAGINACEAE) USING RAPD MARKERS

Limonium cavanillesii is an extremely endangered plant species endemic to the east Mediterranean region of Spain. Regarded as extinct for se veral years, the recent discovery of a small population (only 29 indiv iduals) has prompted the adoption of measures for its conservation by official agencies. As part of this effort, we have analysed genetic va riation in this population by means of random amplified polymorphic DN A (RAPDs). The analysis of 29 individuals with 11 different primers pr oduced 131 monomorphic bands. To our knowledge, this is the lowest lev el of genetic variation detected in plants using RAPD markers. This re sult could be explained both by the apomictic reproductive system of t his species and by the passage through a severe bottleneck in recent t imes, after which there has been no chance for mutation to restore det ectable genetic variation.