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Phylogeographic patterns of the Aconitum nemorum species group (Ranunculaceae) shaped by geological and climatic events in the Tianshan Mountains and their surroundings

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Abstract

To investigate the impacts of ancient geological and climatic events on the evolutionary history of the Aconitum nemorum species group, including A. nemorum s. str., A. karakolicum, and A. soongoricum; a total of 18 natural populations with 146 individuals were sampled, mainly from grassy slopes or the coniferous forest understory of the Tianshan Mountain Range and its surroundings. Two cpDNA intergenic spacer regions (trnS-trnG and psbA-trnH) were sequenced and 16 haplotypes were identified. These were clustered into three divergent lineages which almost entirely corresponded to the three species. Analysis of molecular variance indicated restricted gene flow, mainly among species. High levels of genetic distance were detected among eastern populations in A. nemorum s. str. and A. karakolicum from spatial genetic landscape analysis. Neutral tests and mismatch distribution analysis suggest that A. nemorum s. str. experienced demographic expansions during interglacial periods. Based on haplotype distribution and the median-joining network, it was inferred that this species underwent two periods of eastward expansion. Our molecular dating indicates that the lineages of the complex separated during the period of the late Tertiary to late Pleistocene (11.74–0.064 million years ago), which was most likely triggered by recent rapid uplift of the Tianshan Mountains, while genetic variation at the intra-specific level might be attributed to climatic cycles in the late Quaternary.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Kai-Qing Xie and Jian Zhang in Shihezi University for help in the material collection. Two anonymous reviewers and Dr. Isabel Sanmartin are deeply grateful for their helpful comment and suggestion on the manuscript. Funding was provided by CAS Important Direction for Knowledge Innovation Project (No. KZCX2-EW-305), and Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Biogeography and Bioresource in Arid Land, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, 830011, China

    Xiao-Long Jiang, Ming-Li Zhang & Hong-Xiang Zhang

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Xiao-Long Jiang & Hong-Xiang Zhang

  3. State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China

    Ming-Li Zhang

  4. Shrub Sciences Laboratory, Intermountain Research Station, Forest Service, US Department of Agriculture, Utah, 84601, USA

    Stewart C. Sanderson

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  1. Xiao-Long Jiang
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Correspondence to Ming-Li Zhang.

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606_2013_859_MOESM1_ESM.pdf

Supplementary Fig. S1 Maximum likelihood tree derived from trnS-trnG and psbA–trnH sequences. Bootstrap values larger than 50% are shown above branching points. Red, yellow and green font colors represent haplotypes belonging to A. soongoricum, A. karakolicum and A. nemorum s. str., respectively (PDF 264 kb)

606_2013_859_MOESM2_ESM.pdf

Supplementary Fig. S2 Bayesian Inference tree derived from trnS-trnG and psbA–trnH sequences. Posterior probabilities larger than 0.75 are shown above the branches. Red, yellow and green font colors represent haplotypes belonging to A. soongoricum, A. karakolicum and A. nemorum s. str., respectively (PDF 282 kb)

Supplementary Table S1 (DOC 70 kb)

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Jiang, XL., Zhang, ML., Zhang, HX. et al. Phylogeographic patterns of the Aconitum nemorum species group (Ranunculaceae) shaped by geological and climatic events in the Tianshan Mountains and their surroundings. Plant Syst Evol 300, 51–61 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-013-0859-x

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