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Jessica Keiper
(student), Carolyn Bergman, Louise Wootton, Adriana
Chris (student), Kathleen Brown (student), Lynn Oyenbeke (student), Stephanie
Dizenzo (student), Ibadate Thaqi (student), Biology Department, Georgian Court
University, Lakewood, NJ 08701
DETERMINATION OF GENETIC VARIABILITY IN Carex kobomugi.
Carex kobomugi is an invasive dune grass along the
eastern seaboard. Carex kobomugi came into New Jersey from Asia and has
spread rapidly up to Massachusetts and down to North Carolina. In the 1970s and
1980s, C. kobomugi was planted for dune stabilization, but it was later
determined that this species has a negative ecological impact. It is difficult
to eliminate while conserving the dunes because it grows alongside the native
dune grass. The current procedure includes targeted removal to avoid killing
native grasses. The goal of this research is to learn whether C. kobomugi
reproduces sexually or asexually in an effort to decide the best method of
restoring the native ecology. Leaf samples of the dune grass were collected from
fifteen different sections of Island Beach State Park in New Jersey and DNA was
extracted from these leaves. To determine the genetic variability in samples,
three previously identified microsatellites were analyzed by PCR. PCR products
were resolved using agarose gel electrophoresis. Initial results
demonstrate a high level of genetic variability which would be consistent with
sexual reproduction as major mechanism of reproduction for C. kobomugi in
New Jersey dunes.
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