Evolutionary Genomics Unravels the Responses and Adaptation to Climate Change in a Key Alpine Forest Tree Species.

ABSTRACT: Despite widespread biodiversity loss, our understanding of how species and populations will respond to accelerated climate change remains limited. In this study, we integrate population genomics, experimental evolution, and environmental modeling to elucidate the evolutionary responses to climate change in Populus lasiocarpa, a key alpine forest tree species primarily distributed in the mountainous regions of a global biodiversity hotspot. Over historical timescales, our findings demonstrate that demographic dynamics, divergent selection, and long-term balancing selection have shaped and maintained genetic variation within and between populations. In examining genomic signatures of contemporary climate adaptation, we found that haplotype blocks, potentially caused by inversion polymorphism

SUBMITTER: Long Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12230678 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature