Comparative phylogeography and population structure of European Betula species, with particular focus on B. pendula and B. pubescens

• Aim  To compare the population genetic structures of the haplotype-sharing species Betula pendula and B. pubescens and to draw phylogeographic inferences using chloroplast DNA markers. In particular, we tested whether B. pendula and B. pubescens exhibited the same or different phylogeographic structures. Location  Western Europe and Russia. Methods  In this study we used both chloroplast DNA polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism and microsatellites to genotype B. pendula, B. pubescens and, to a limited extent, B. nana, in 53 populations across Eurasia. A spatialamova(samova) was used to identify major clusters within each species. Results  The low level of phylogeographic structure previously observed in B. pendula was confirmed, and thesamovaanalysis retrieved only two major clusters. In contrast, seven clusters were observed in B. pubescens, although the overall level of population differentiation was similar to that of B. pendula. Main conclusions  We detected a difference in the population genetic structure between the two species, despite extensive haplotype sharing. It is difficult to ascribe this finding to a single factor, but divergence in ecology between the two species may provide part of the explanation. For both species, the contribution of southern western populations to the recolonization after the Last Glacial Maximum seems to have been limited, and eastern and western European populations apparently had different histories.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Chloroplast markers

haplotype-sharing phylogeography

post-glacial recolonization

refugia

Russia

SAMOVA

western Europe

Biology

Biologi

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)