Dataset Information

A glacial survivor of the alpine Mediterranean region: phylogenetic and phylogeographic insights into Silene ciliata Pourr. (Caryophyllaceae).

ABSTRACT: Silene ciliata Pourr. (Caryophyllaceae) is a species with a highly disjunct distribution which inhabits the alpine mountains of the Mediterranean Basin. We investigated the phylogeny and phylogeography of the species to (a) clarify the long-suggested division of S. ciliata into two subspecies, (b) evaluate its phylogenetic origin and (c) assess whether the species' diversification patterns were affected by the Mediterranean relief. For this purpose, we collected DNA from 25 populations of the species that inhabit the mountains of Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria and Greece and studied the plastid regions rbcL, rps16 and trnL. Major intraspecific variation was supported by all analyses, while the possibility of the existence of more varieties or subspecies was not favoured. Plastid DNA (cpDNA) evidence was in accordance with the division of S. ciliata into the two subspecies, one spreading west (Iberian Peninsula and Central Massif) and the other east of the Alps region (Italian and Balkan Peninsula). This study proposes that the species' geographically disconnected distribution has probably derived from vicariance processes and from the Alps acting as a barrier to the species' dispersal. The monophyletic origin of the species is highly supported. cpDNA patterns were shown independent of the chromosome evolution in the populations and could have resulted from a combination of geographic factors providing links and barriers, climatic adversities and evolutionary processes that took place during Quaternary glaciations.

SUBMITTER: Kyrkou I

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4548490 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

A glacial survivor of the alpine Mediterranean region: phylogenetic and phylogeographic insights into Silene ciliata Pourr. (Caryophyllaceae).

Kyrkou Ifigeneia I Iriondo José María JM García-Fernández Alfredo A

PeerJ 20150820

Silene ciliata Pourr. (Caryophyllaceae) is a species with a highly disjunct distribution which inhabits the alpine mountains of the Mediterranean Basin. We investigated the phylogeny and phylogeography of the species to (a) clarify the long-suggested division of S. ciliata into two subspecies, (b) evaluate its phylogenetic origin and (c) assess whether the species' diversification patterns were affected by the Mediterranean relief. For this purpose, we collected DNA from 25 populations of the sp ...[more]

PMID: 26312184

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Project description:The study of the drivers that shape spatial genetic structure across heterogeneous landscapes is one of the main approaches used to understand population dynamics and responses in changing environments. While the Isolation-by-Distance model (IBD) assumes that genetic differentiation increases among populations with geographical distance, the Isolation-by-Resistance model (IBR) also considers geographical barriers and other landscape features that impede gene flow. On the other hand, the Isolation-by-Environment model (IBE) explains genetic differentiation through environmental differences between populations. Although spatial genetic studies have increased significantly in recent years, plants from alpine ecosystems are highly underrepresented, even though they are great suitable systems to disentangle the role of the different factors that structure genetic variation across environmental gradients. Here, we studied the spatial genetic structure of the Mediterranean alpine specialist Silene ciliata across its southernmost distribution limit. We sampled three populations across an altitudinal gradient from 1850 to 2400 m, and we replicated this sample over three mountain ranges aligned across an E-W axis in the central part of the Iberian Peninsula. We genotyped 20 individuals per population based on eight microsatellite markers and used different landscape genetic tools to infer the role of topographic and environmental factors in shaping observed patterns along the altitudinal gradient. We found a significant genetic structure among the studied Silene ciliata populations which was related to the orography and E-W configuration of the mountain ranges. IBD pattern arose as the main factor shaping population genetic differentiation. Geographical barriers between mountain ranges also affected the spatial genetic structure (IBR pattern). Although environmental variables had a significant effect on population genetic diversity parameters, no IBE pattern was found on genetic structure. Our study reveals that IBD was the driver that best explained the genetic structure, whereas environmental factors also played a role in determining genetic diversity values of this dominant plant of Mediterranean alpine environments.

Dataset Information

A glacial survivor of the alpine Mediterranean region: phylogenetic and phylogeographic insights into Silene ciliata Pourr. (Caryophyllaceae).

Publications

A glacial survivor of the alpine Mediterranean region: phylogenetic and phylogeographic insights into Silene ciliata Pourr. (Caryophyllaceae).

Similar Datasets

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