Incipient speciation, high genetic diversity, and ecological divergence in the alligator bark juniper suggest complex demographic changes during the Pleistocene.

ABSTRACT: The most recent glacial cycles of the Pleistocene affected the distribution, population sizes, and levels of genetic structure of temperate-forest species in the main Mexican mountain systems. Our objective was to investigate the effects these cycles had on the genetic structure and distribution of a dominant species of the "mexical" vegetation across North and Central America. We studied the genetic diversity of Juniperus deppeana, a conifer distributed from the Southwestern United States to the highlands of Central America. We combined information of one plastid marker and two nuclear markers to infer phylogeographic structure, genetic diversity and demographic changes. We also characterized the climatic niche for each variety to infer the plausible area of suitability during past

SUBMITTER: Martinez de Leon R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9336613 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature