Genetic structure and variation in Pinus sylvestris L. populations degrading due to pollution-induced injury

The comparative study of genetic variation and differentiation of Ukraine's south-eastern five marginal Pinus sylvestris L. populations (which are differently damaged by emissions of large chemical enterprises producing mineral fertilizers, plastics and organic dyes and are degrading through it) was performed using the electrophoretic analysis of 9 gene-enzymous systems, encoded by 22 loci. About 82% of P. sylvestris genes have been found to be in a polymorphic state and each tree is on the average heterozygous in 22.3% of its genes. In the most degrading population which is 0.3 km from the main provenances of air pollutants mean indices of genetic polymorphism were lower, a number of alleles per a locus - by 18%, genotypes - by 13%, observed heterozygosity - by 12% and expected one - by 9% compared to the far removed population (more than 100 km). Those mean indices in two damaged-degrading populations were also by 7.9% to 16.7% lower than in three populations of the background and not polluted zone. The populations under consideration are weakly differentiated, NEI'S genetic distance coefficient varied within 0.004 to 0.014, accounting at an average for 0.008. For the population degrading due to the untimely elimination of trees, damaged by pollutants, the values of these coefficients compared with the rest four populations did not exceed the average level.