Genetic Diversity of Selected Sea Oats (Uniola paniculata) Lines Using Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism.

Sea oats (Uniola paniculata L.) is a perennial dunegrass native to the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts of the United States.  Sea oats is ideal for building and stabilizing sand dunes because its extensive rhizome system stabilizes sand while its shoots act as a windbreak to collect windblown sand.  With the utilization of well-adapted sea oats lines, it is possible that beaches would be able to rebuild dunes naturally after major hurricanes rather than requiring repeated restoration projects.  In 2001, seeds were collected from 8 states to initiate the only sea oats breeding program in the nation.  Seeds were germinated and approximately 2000 seedlings were produced.  High genetic diversity was found among 190 random seedlings using Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP), and a relationship between genetic diversity and geographic source was found.  The 2000 seedlings were grown in a greenhouse for one year and then transplanted to natural beaches in 2003.  In 2005, 158 plants were selected based upon survival, plant vigor, and spread.  The objectives of this study were to (i) determine the genetic relatedness of the selected sea oats lines using ten AFLP MseI + EcoRI primer combinations and (ii) compare the genetic diversity of selected and unselected lines.