LOCAL POLYPLOID VARIATION IN THE NATIVE PRAIRIE GRASS ANDROPOGON GERARDII

The microscale distribution of polyploid variants of the dominant grass big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) in virgin tallgrass prairie was mapped using flow cytometry. The correlation between DNA content and polyploidy allows the use of flow cytometry for nondestructive determination of polyploidy in intact plants. At Konza Prairie, local plots contained from 0 to 100% hexaploid cytotypes but most showed fine-scale mixing of the polyploid variants. The relationship of cytotype frequency to moisture availability or burning history was nonsignificant.