IIBYT   23944
INSTITUTO DE INVESTIGACIONES BIOLOGICAS Y TECNOLOGICAS
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
artículos
Título:
Pleistocene climatic oscillations rather than recent human disturbance influence genetic diversity in one of the world´s highest treeline species.
Autor/es:
PENG, Y.; LACHMUTH, S.; GALLEGOS, S.; KESSLER, M.; RAMSAY, P.; RENISON, D.; SUAREZ, R.; HENSEN, I.
Revista:
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY
Editorial:
BOTANICAL SOC AMER INC
Referencias:
Lugar: St. Louis; Año: 2015 vol. 102 p. 1 - 9
ISSN:
0002-9122
Resumen:
?Premise of the study: This study analyses short-term responses to human disturbance and long-term responses to climate change in Polylepis tarapacana (Rosaceae), one of the world?s highest treeline species endemic to the central Andes. ?Methods: Using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLPs), we compared P. tarapacana genetic diversity and structure of 384 adults and 384 juveniles from across 32 forest sites spanning a latitudinal gradient of 600 km occurring between 4,100 m and 5,000 m a.s.l.?Key results: Moderate to high levels of genetic diversity and low genetic differentiation were detected in both adults and juveniles, with levels of genetic diversity and differentiation being almost identical. Four slightly genetically divergent clusters were identified that accorded to differing geographical regions. Genetic diversity decreased from south to north and with increasing precipitation for adults and juveniles, but there was no relationship to elevation.?Conclusions: Our study shows that, unlike other Andean treeline species, recent human activities have not affected the genetic structure of P. tarapacana, possibly as a result of the species' inhospitable habitat. The current genetic pattern of P. tarapacana points to a historically more widespread distribution at lower altitudes which allowed considerable gene flow possibly during the glacial periods of the Pleistocene epoch, and also suggests that the Argentinean Andes at the South of the species distribution may have served as a refugium for historical populations.