Líffræðifélag Íslands
Líffræðiráðstefnan 2013
Veggspjald 15


Strawberries at the northern periphery – Genotypic and morphological diversity within northern populations of the woodland strawberry (Fragaria vesca L.)



Hrannar Smári Hilmarsson, Magnus Göransson og Jón Hallsteinn Hallsson

Landbúnaðarháskóli Íslands

Kynnir/Tengiliður: Hrannar Smári Hilmarsson (nem.hrannarsh@lbhi.is)

The woodland strawberry (Fragaria vesca) has the largest geographic range of wild species of the genus Fragaria.  It is native throughout the Americas, across Europe, east to the Ural Mountains, over Asia and across the Bering Strait. Despite its vast distribution F. vesca is not found in the Faeroe Islands, Svalbard or Greenland, but it is found in most parts of Iceland. F. vesca is the first species found in the Icelandic flora to be fully sequenced and therefore offers a unique opportunity to use detailed genetic information to study aspects of biogeography of the Icelandic F. vesca population. A plant collection from around the world has been assembled with special emphasis on plants covering the distribution in Iceland. Phenotypic variation has been screened within the collection and genetic diversity will be analysed using sequencing and GBS (genotyping-by-sequencing). Results will shed light on population structure within the country, the origin of the Icelandic population and influx into the population. The analysis will also be used to identify characteristics within the Nordic F. vesca populations of interest for research and breeding.