Evolutionary history of Castanea sativa in the Caucasus driven by Middle and Late Pleistocene paleoenvironmental changes.

ABSTRACT: Due to global climate cooling and aridification since the Paleogene, members of the Neogene flora were extirpated from the Northern Hemisphere or were confined to a few refugial areas. For some species, the final reduction/extinction came in the Pleistocene, but some others have survived climatic transformations up to the present. This has occurred in Castanea sativa, a species of high commercial value in Europe and a significant component of the Caucasian forests' biodiversity. In contrast to the European range, neither the historical biogeography nor the population genetic structure of the species in its isolated Caucasian range has been clarified. Here, based on a survey of 21 natural populations from the Caucasus and a single one from Europe, we provide a likely biogeographic re

SUBMITTER: Beridze B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10601393 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature