Allopolyploid origin and niche expansion of Rhodiola integrifolia (Crassulaceae)

ABSTRACT: Polyploidy after hybridization between species can lead to immediate post-zygotic isolation, causing saltatory origin of new species. Although the incidence of polyploidization in plants is high, it is thought that a new polyploid lineage can succeed only if it establishes a new ecological niche divergent from its progenitor lineages. We tested the hypothesis that Rhodiola integrifolia from North America is an allopolyploid produced by R. rhodantha and R. rosea and determined whether its survival can be explained by the niche divergence hypothesis. To this end, we sequenced two low-copy nuclear genes (ncpGS and rpb2) in a phylogenetic analysis of 42 Rhodiola species and tested for niche equivalency and similarity using Schoener’s D as the index of niche overlap. Our phylogeny-based approac

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PROVIDER: S-EPMC9975476 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature