Genetic variation and selfing rate in Lychnis flos-cuculi along an industrial pollution gradient

We studied nine populations of a meadow mixed-mating plant Lychnis flos-cuculi growing in a gradient of copper smelter emissions. We hypothesize that metal tolerant populations in the polluted areas have experienced a loss of genetic variation and are more selfing than the populations from the unpolluted areas. One hundred and thirty-five parental plants and 1059 offspring were genotyped with six microsatellite markers. Selfing rates were assessed manually, with RMES, MLTR and COLONY2. Soil toxicity, population density and pollinators' activity were estimated in the studied areas. Populations from the heavily polluted area have experienced a strong founder effect. However, at present, they are characterized by high densities. A recent genetic explosion was registered for the population from the most polluted site, probably due to forest thinning under pollution effects. Selfing rates estimated with different approaches agreed well only for populations with high genetic variation; they comprised 0-0.23 and were similar between polluted and clean areas. Self-fertilization in L. flos-cuculi hardly represents a mechanism for the fixation of advantageous alleles and a barrier for gene flow from non-tolerant populations. The employment of different methods of selfing rate estimation in populations with low genetic variation appears to be necessary, though not a guarantee of reliable conclusions.