Mangrove Genetics. I. Mating System and Mutation Rates of Rhizophora Mangle in Florida and San Salvador Island, Bahamas

Abstract

Mutation rates for chlorophyll deficiency in Florida and San Salvador Island red mangroves, Rhizophora mangle, are essentially identical; the average rate is 0.0058 ± 0.0018 chlorophyll-deficiency mutations per genome per generation. Segregation ratios for marker genes in the progeny of heterozygous trees support the hypothesis that selfing is very common in the populations studied. If inbreeding turns out to be prevalent throughout the range of red mangrove, mangrove forests may be essentially single-species "natural monocultures" with little geneticdiversity.