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Comparative Phylogeography of Two Stuckenia Species Tells Different Evolutionary Histories in China

Mar 28, 2016

Phylogeography has been one major focus of evolutionary biology in recent years. An extension of this approach is the comparison of phylogeographic patterns of closely related species. In the aquatic genus Stuckenia, the wide geographic range of S. pectinata and S. filiformis make them suited for examination of topographic and climatic effects on plant evolutionary histories in China.  

Dr. DU Zhiyuan, under the supervision of Professor WANG Qingfeng from Wuhan Botanical Garden, investigated the distribution regions and hybrid zones of S. pectinata and S. filiformis in China, and compared their phylogeographical patterns and demographical histories.  

Study revealed that the two species were allopatric in China. S. filiformis occurred only on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP), whereas S. pectinata occupied a wide range of habitats. These two species formed hybrid zones on the northeastern edge of QTP. Most of the genetic variance of S. filiformis was between the southern and eastern groups on the QTP, showing a significant phylogeographic structure. The geographical isolations caused by the Nyenchen Tanglha Mountains and the Tanggula Mountains promoted intraspecific diversification of alpine plants on the QTP.  

On the contrary, study revealed the lack of phylogeographic structure in S. pectinata, due to the continued gene flow among its distribution regions. The populations of S. pectinata from northwest China harbored ancestral haplotypes, and migrated to north China and southwest China, whereas new haplotypes diversified in the southwest China, and migrated backwards to north China and northwest China. Because the northern part of China and the whole QTP were not covered by large ice sheets during the Quaternary glaciations, the ecological niche model showed that the distribution ranges of these two cold-tolerant species did not contract too much during the glacial period. 

This comparative study of Stuckenia species is one of a few studies that have been conducted on widespread herbaceous species in China, and would provide insights into the evolutionary history of plants with similar life histories and distribution patterns.  

Results entitled “Allopatric divergence of Stuckenia filiformis (Potamogetonaceae) on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and its comparative phylogeography with S. pectinata in China” were published online on Scientific Reports. It was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the strategic pilot science and technology projects of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. 

  

The geographical distribution of S. filiformis populations (Image by DU Zhiyuan) 

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