Ice holes microrefugia harbor genetically and functionally distinct populations of Vaccinium vitis-idaea (Ericaceae).

ABSTRACT: In the mountain terrain, ice holes are little depressions between rock boulders that are characterized by the exit of cold air able to cool down the rock surface even in summer. This cold air creates cold microrefugia in warmer surroundings that preserve plant species probably over thousands of years under extra-zonal climatic conditions. We hypothesized that ice hole populations of the model species Vaccinium vitis-idaea (Ericaceae) show genetic differentiation from nearby zonal subalpine populations, and high functional trait distinctiveness, in agreement with genetic patterns. We genotyped almost 30,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms using restriction site-associated DNA sequencing and measured eight functional traits indicative of individual performance and ecological strategies. Gene

SUBMITTER: Tonin R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10421893 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature