Dataset Information

Past climate changes facilitated homoploid speciation in three mountain spiny fescues (Festuca, Poaceae).

ABSTRACT: Apart from the overwhelming cases of allopolyploidization, the impact of speciation through homoploid hybridization is becoming more relevant than previously thought. Much less is known, however, about the impact of climate changes as a driven factor of speciation. To investigate these issues, we selected Festuca picoeuropeana, an hypothetical natural hybrid between the diploid species F. eskia and F. gautieri that occurs in two different mountain ranges (Cantabrian Mountains and Pyrenees) separated by more than 400?km. To unravel the outcomes of this mode of speciation and the impact of climate during speciation we used a multidisciplinary approach combining genome size and chromosome counts, data from an extensive nuclear genotypic analysis, plastid sequences and ecological niche models (ENM). Our results show that the same homoploid hybrid was originated independently in the two mountain ranges, being currently isolated from both parents and producing viable seeds. Parental species had the opportunity to contact as early as 21000 years ago although niche divergence occurs nowadays as result of a climate-driven shift. A high degree of niche divergence was observed between the hybrid and its parents and no recent introgression or backcrossed hybrids were detected, supporting the current presence of reproductive isolation barriers between these species.

SUBMITTER: Marques I

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5093761 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Past climate changes facilitated homoploid speciation in three mountain spiny fescues (Festuca, Poaceae).

Marques I I Draper D D López-Herranz M L ML Garnatje T T Segarra-Moragues J G JG Catalán P P

Scientific reports 20161103

Apart from the overwhelming cases of allopolyploidization, the impact of speciation through homoploid hybridization is becoming more relevant than previously thought. Much less is known, however, about the impact of climate changes as a driven factor of speciation. To investigate these issues, we selected Festuca picoeuropeana, an hypothetical natural hybrid between the diploid species F. eskia and F. gautieri that occurs in two different mountain ranges (Cantabrian Mountains and Pyrenees) separ ...[more]

PMID: 27808118

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Project description:BackgroundMicrosatellite loci, or single sequence repeats (SSR), are widely used as powerful markers in population genetics. They represent an attractive tool for studying plants such as grasses, whose evolution is driven by hybridisation and polyploidization. However, the development of microsatellite markers has been challenging and time-consuming, especially for non-model organisms lacking available genome-wide sequence data. One straightforward and low-cost approach is to transfer the SSR loci developed for one species, or complex, to another closely-related one. This work evaluates the transferability of microsatellite loci from homoploid to allopolyploid complexes of fine-leaved Festuca species and to assess their use in two new species. The studied complex (F. amethystina-F. tatrae) is a useful model for research on the local adaptability of grasses with different ploidy levels. Since both species can be considered as rare or threatened (F. tatrae-as a mountain and narrow endemic species and F. amethystina-a mountain species with relict lowland populations), any tool enabling studies on genetic diversity and population genetics, such as SSR markers, could also be very useful in a conservation context.MethodsThe ploidy level within populations was estimated using flow cytometry. One diploid and one tetraploid population of F. amethystina and a diploid population of F. tatrae were chosen to test the transferability of SSR loci. Because our work describes the transfer of SSR nuclear markers designed originally for F. gautieri, a phylogenetic tree was prepared based on the ITS marker to assess the genetic distance between the studied complexes. The PCR products were separated on a high-resolution agarose gel, intended for SSR marker analysis. Appropriate solutions for the allotetraploid population and whole mixed-ploidy complex were implemented.ResultsFlow cytometry confirmed earlier data regarding DNA content in the investigated species and cytotypes. The phylogenetic ITS tree indicated a small genetic distance between F. gautieri complexes and the studied species. Ten microsatellite markers were successfully transferred. All markers were polymorphic. In total, 163 different alleles were scored from the 10 SSR loci. PCoA of accessions revealed well-separated groups corresponding to studied populations. Over 60% of the total variance is explained by differentiation within populations and one third among them.ConclusionsThe transferred markers are valid tools for the study of population genetics and inheritance relationships within cytotypes and species and between them. The presented markers can be used to study inbreeding depression in the Festuca species, and variations in the degrees of genetic diversity between different cytotypes in mountain and lowland areas. Our findings can also be applied to study conservation strategies for ensuring biodiversity at the genetic level in polyploid complexes.

Dataset Information

Past climate changes facilitated homoploid speciation in three mountain spiny fescues (Festuca, Poaceae).

Publications

Past climate changes facilitated homoploid speciation in three mountain spiny fescues (Festuca, Poaceae).

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