Isozyme polymorphism in Festuca rubraL.

Summary Six Festuca rubra populations from Europe and Scandinavia were studied for variation at three isozyme loci; phosphoglucoisomerase (PGI-2), glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT-3) and superoxide dismutase (SOD-1). Seven alleles were found at the Pgi-2 locus, four at the Got-3 locus and five at the Sod-1 locus. Most plants were heterozygous and up to five alleles were found in the same plant at the Pgi-2 locus. Each population could be distinguished by the presence or absence of certain alleles or by differences in the frequencies of the alleles present. Values for the Shannon diversity index were calculated which showed that there was considerable heterogeneity both within and between loci. In general, 53% of this diversity could be attributed to within population variation.