Evidence of genetic drift in chestnut populations
Résumé
The genetic diversity and differentiation of six French populations of chestnut, Castaneasativa Mill., were analysed with isozyme markers. This work extends previous studies on Italian and Turkish populations. Results suggest that human interference has dramatically reduced the number of alleles per locus. This reduction is probably due to the process of genetic drift, as successively smaller numbers of genotypes were sampled in the course of reforestation and subsequent propagation of this species.