Genetic diversity and inter-specific relations of western Mediterranean relic Abies taxa as compared to the Iberian A. alba |
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Authors: | Monika Dering Katarzyna Sękiewicz Krystyna Boratyńska Monika Litkowiec Gregorz Iszkuło Angel Romo Adam Boratyński |
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Institution: | 1. Institute of Dendrology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Parkowa 5, Kórnik 62-035, Poland,;2. University of Zielona Góra, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Prof. Z. Szafrana 1, Zielona Góra 65-516, Poland;3. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, Institute of Botany, Barcelona, Spain |
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Abstract: | Several Abies species are currently present in the Mediterranean region and most of them are endemic taxa and tertiary relicts. Using six nuclear microsatellites, we studied the genetic structure and inter-specific relationships among West Mediterranean firs, A. pinsapo (Spain), A. maroccana and A. tazaotana (Morocco). Based on the hypothesis that A. pinsapo could historically exchange genes with A. alba growing in the Pyrenees via secondary contact, we investigated the level of genetic admixture between these species using a Bayesian approach. The studied populations showed moderate genetic diversity (mean HE = 0.598) and a high level of genetic differentiation (FST = 0.225) that was especially pronounced between A. alba and the African firs. All populations experienced a strong bottleneck effect that was likely induced by climatic changes occurring in the West Mediterranean during the last glacial cycle and the Holocene. According to Bayesian clustering, both African taxa grouped together in a single cluster, the two A. pinsapo populations formed a second cluster, and two additional clusters were detected within A. alba. Our results indicate that A. tazaotana is genetically very close to A. maroccana, and hence these two taxa should probably not be considered as separate species. We found no genetic admixture between A. pinsapo and A. alba and only minor between A. pinsapo and the African fir populations suggesting an isolation effect of the Gibraltar Strait. Current limited distributions of firs in the Mediterranean region together with changing climate may lead to further deterioration of the genetic diversity levels. Hence, future efforts should focus on monitoring the demography and genetic threats to existing populations. |
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Keywords: | A pinsapo A alba Genetic diversity Phylogeography Gibraltar Strait West Mediterranean firs |
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