Premium
Genetic variation and phylogeography of Stauracanthus (Fabaceae, Genisteae) from the Iberian Peninsula and northern Morocco assessed by chloroplast microsatellite (cpSSR) markers
Author(s) -
Pardo Cristina,
Cubas Paloma,
Tahiri Hikmat
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
american journal of botany
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.218
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1537-2197
pISSN - 0002-9122
DOI - 10.3732/ajb.95.1.98
Subject(s) - biology , phylogeography , microsatellite , fabaceae , peninsula , evolutionary biology , chloroplast , genetic variation , chloroplast dna , ecology , genetics , phylogenetics , allele , gene
The tribe Genisteae includes genera of great ecological importance in Mediterranean countries because they are dominant elements of many plant communities. Genetic variation and diversification patterns in Stauracanthus (Genisteae) provide information relevant for the study of the processes of diversification in relation to the environmental history of the western Mediterranean. Nineteen populations of S. boivinii and S. genistoides were assessed by 11 chloroplast microsatellite markers, revealing 44 haplotypes. Both species had different haplotypes and contrasting patterns of karyological, morphological, and genetic variation. In the minimum spanning tree of the haplotypes, AMOVA analysis, and nested clade analysis, S. boivinii had high levels of differentiation and restricted gene flow among populations. Allopatric differentiation occurred between the Moroccan and Iberian populations of S. genistoides , although S. genistoides subsp. spectabilis and subsp. vicentinus had high levels of differentiation among populations ( F ST ), whereas S. genistoides subsp. genistoides had a low F ST . Genetic patterns are discussed in relation to the Messinian salinity crisis (MSC): hard conditions drove plants to refuge habitats along the Atlantic coast and higher altitude areas in the Moroccan mountains ( S. genistoides subsp. spectabilis and S. boivinii ). After the MSC, S. boivinii underwent polyploidization and expansion, whereas S. genistoides expanded and continued diversifying into S. genistoides subspp. genistoides and vicentinus .