Paternal chloroplast DNA inheritance in Pinus consora and Pinus banksiana: Independence of parenetal species or cross direction

We studied chloroplast DNA inheritance in 133 Pinus contora seedling and in 88 seedling of interspecific matings between P.contora and P.banksiana, to determine if the mode of inheritance is consistent in matings within and between these two speicies. Segregations data from matings of 14 P.contorta parents and five P.banksiana parents, representting a diversity of chloroplast DNA genetypes and geograophic sources, were consistent with paternal chloroplast DNA inheritance. Nonetheless, nine nonpaternal seeding genotypes were observed, which may have resulted from contamination, parental chimerism, maternal leakage, or recombination. Our results, taken together with earlier reports, suggest that the paternal predominance of chloroplast DNA inheritance in P.contortaand P.banksiana is indepentent of parental genotype, geographic source, speices, or mating direction. This apparent consistancy will be useful for interpretation of cytonuclear data from sympatric populations of these two species.