Genetic studies on Impatiens glandulifera populations in Ukraine
Impatiens glandulifera (Balsaminaceae: EPPO List of Invasive Alien Plants) is an invasive, annual species native to the Western Himalayas. It was originally introduced into the EPPO region as a garden ornamental and has spread throughout Europe becoming widely established in several countries. The genetic diversity of populations of I. glandulifera was studied by extracting DNA from plant material held in the Chernivtsi National University and the State Natural History Museum in Lviv, as well as from field collected populations from eight regions in Ukraine. This data was compared with additional sequences from other European countries and from the native range (India and Pakistan) as well as from online databases. Specifically, the study compared the variability of two chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) regions, trnS-G and rpl32-trnL(UAG). The results showed that European populations of I. glandulifera have two distinct haplotypes, T1-R1 and T2-R2, and the divergence is assumed to have occurred in the species native range as the chloroplast DNA variation was higher in the native range compared to the invasive range. Both haplotypes are widespread across Europe, supporting the hypothesis that I. glandulifera was introduced multiple times. However, in Ukraine, there is an uneven distribution of both haplotypes. This suggests that the population in Ukraine was initially established from a small number of individuals, and genetically different plants were introduced at a later date. Interestingly, genetic differences in a population, can have an effect on control measures, especially biological control as host specific agents may be specific to a biotype of the plant.
Sources
Tynkevich YO, Roshka NM, Panchuk II, Volkov RA (2025) Distribution of two chloroplast haplotypes of the invasive weed Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera) in Ukraine
and other European countries. Cytology and Genetics 59, 465–475.