Phylogeographic evidence for a link of species divergence of Ephedra in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and adjacent regions to the Miocene Asian aridification.

ABSTRACT: The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) has become one of the hotspots for phylogeographical studies due to its high species diversity. However, most previous studies have focused on the effects of the Quaternary glaciations on phylogeographical structures and the locations of glacial refugia, and little is known about the effects of the aridization of interior Asia on plant population structure and speciation. Here the chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) trnT-trnF and trnS-trnfM sequences were used to investigate the differentiation and phylogeographical history of 14 Ephedra species from the QTP and northern China, based on a sampling of 107 populations. The phylogeographical analysis, together with phylogenetic reconstruction based on combined four cpDNA fragments (rbcL, rpl16, rps4, and trnS-trnfM), sup

SUBMITTER: Qin AL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3571962 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature