An analysis of genetic variability of Myriophyllum spicatum in Madison County Lakes

An investigative project was conducted using randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis to investigate the genetic diversity of Myriophyllum spicatum from Leland Pond and Lake Moraine in Madison County, New York. This species of milfoil was first introduced to North America in the late 19 century around the Chesapeake Bay area (Aiken, 1979), although some authors believe that it came as late as the 1940’s (Couch and Nelson, 1985). Myriophyllum spicatum is an aquatic macrophyte native to Europe, Asia and Northern Africa (Couch and Nelson, 1985), and reproduces primarily through vegetative fragmentation, which occurs throughout most of the year. These fragments typically develop adventitious roots at the nodes prior to separation from the parent plant (Aiken, 1979). Adventitious roots are also formed on fragmented plants, which have been broken off of the parent plant by physical disturbances, either natural or man-made (Aiken, 1979). Natural physical disturbances include the mining by Euhrychiopsis lecontei, the milfoil weevil, and weather conditions causing extreme water movement. Human disturbances include harvesting and recreational activities such as boating, water skiing and jet skiing.