Contrasting evolutionary origins of two mountain endemics: Saxifraga wahlenbergii (Western Carpathians) and S. styriaca (Eastern Alps).

ABSTRACT:

Background

The Carpathians and the Alps are the largest mountain ranges of the European Alpine System and important centres of endemism. Among the distinctive endemic species of this area is Saxifraga wahlenbergii, a Western Carpathians member of the speciose genus Saxifraga. It was frequently considered a taxonomically isolated Tertiary palaeopolyploid and palaeoendemic, for which the closest relatives could not yet be traced. A recently described narrow endemic of the Eastern Alps, S. styriaca, was hypothesized to be closely related to S. wahlenbergii based on shared presence of peculiar glandular hairs. To elucidate the origin and phylogenetic relationships of both species we studied nuclear and plastid DNA markers based on multiple accessions and analysed the data in a wide tax

SUBMITTER: Tkach N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6329101 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature