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RESEARCH PRODUCT

New polymorphic markers for genetic diversity studies in an invasive plant: the common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.)

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description

Common ragweed is an annual herb that belongs to the Asteraceae family. It is known as an invasive plant originating from the USA. In France the common ragweed is especially abundant in the Rhône-Alpes basin and currently spreads northwards in Burgundy. Ragweed colonizes different types of environments, such as railways, river sides, wastelands, farmlands and cultivated crops (especially sunflowers crops). Herbicide resistance to linuron, glyphosate and/or acetolactate synthase inhibitors has been reported in the USA, which complicates the chemical control of ragweed. In addition, the highly allergenic pollen of ragweed causes severe allergies. These elements make this plant a major threat to health and to the environment in Europe. To investigate the genetic diversity and the patterns of gene flow in A. artemisiifolia, reliable, polymorphic molecular markers are requested. Until now, only a handful of microsatellites markers are available for this species. We used an enriched microsatellite library coupled with 454 next-generation sequencing to develop a new set of microsatellite markers. The new set of markers and pre-existing markers have been thoroughly tested for stable PCR amplification and reliable genotype scoring. The presence of null alleles has been checked. Here, we present genetic diversity data obtained for twelve ragweed populations, sampled across the core area of presence of the species (Rhône – Alpes basin) and its northwards limits (Jura and Burgundy).