Teasing apart the joint effect of demography and natural selection in the birth of a contact zone.

ABSTRACT: Vast population movements induced by recurrent climatic cycles have shaped the genetic structure of plant species. During glacial periods species were confined to low-latitude refugia from which they recolonized higher latitudes as the climate improved. This multipronged recolonization led to many lineages that later met and formed large contact zones. We utilize genomic data from 5000 Picea abies trees to test for the presence of natural selection during recolonization and establishment of a contact zone in Scandinavia. Scandinavian P. abies is today made up of a southern genetic cluster originating from the Baltics, and a northern one originating from Northern Russia. The contact zone delineating them closely matches the limit between two major climatic regions. We show that natural sele

SUBMITTER: Li L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9828440 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature