Using morphological, molecular and climatic data to delimitate yews along the Hindu Kush-Himalaya and adjacent regions.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Despite the availability of several studies to clarify taxonomic problems on the highly threatened yews of the Hindu Kush-Himalaya (HKH) and adjacent regions, the total number of species and their exact distribution ranges remains controversial. We explored the use of comprehensive sets of morphological, molecular and climatic data to clarify taxonomy and distributions of yews in this region.

Methodology/principal findings

A total of 743 samples from 46 populations of wild yew and 47 representative herbarium specimens were analyzed. Principle component analyses on 27 morphological characters and 15 bioclimatic variables plus altitude and maximum parsimony analysis on molecular ITS and trnL-F sequences indicated the existence of three distinct species occurring in

SUBMITTER: Poudel RC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3466193 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature