INVESTIGADORES
URDAMPILLETA Juan Domingo
artículos
Título:
How did a grass reach Antarctica? The Patagonian connection of Deschampsia Antarctica (Poaceae)
Autor/es:
FASANELLA, M; PREMOLI, A C; URDAMPILLETA J D; GONZALEZ, M L; CHIAPELLA, J
Revista:
BOTANICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY
Editorial:
WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC
Referencias:
Lugar: Londres; Año: 2017 vol. 185 p. 511 - 524
ISSN:
0024-4074
Resumen:
Deschampsia antarctica is the only grass naturally occurring in Antarctica, and is also indigenous to southern South America. We aimed at evaluating patterns of within- population genetic diversity and between the focal areas Patagonia and Antarctica by using 144 sequences of nuclear (nDNA) and plastid (cpDNA) markers. We analyzed phylogenetic relationships between these two main areas, and also performed demographic and landscape analysis. To test the divergence time between Antarctic and Patagonian populations we used Approximate Bayesian Computation. We found 17 nDNA and eight cpDNA haplotypes. For both molecular markers, Patagonia was the area most genetically variable throughout the D. antarctica range. The divergence time between populations from Antarctica and Patagonia was dated in the Mid-Late Pleistocene. The large number of private haplotypes found in Patagonia and the great genetic variability, support the hypothesis of a South American origin of the Antarctic populations of D. antarctica. Finally, we suggest that D. antarctica probably survived the last glacial maximum and possibly earlier glaciations in ice-free refugia in Patagonia and Antarctica. Dispersal to Antarctica possibly occurred in the Mid-Late Pleistocene through bird-aided long-distance transport from South America.