biostudies-literatureUnknown116(2)Ikeda HArctic-alpine plants have enormous ranges in the Northern Hemisphere. Phylogeographic studies have provided insights into their glacial survival as well as their postglacial colonization history. However, our understanding of the population dynamics of disjunct alpine populations in temperate regions remains limited. During Pleistocene cold periods, alpine populations of arctic-alpine species in East Asia were either connected to an ice-free Beringia refugium or they persisted with prolonged isolation after their establishment. To estimate which of these scenarios is more likely, we elucidated the genetic structure of Phyllodoce caerulea (Ericaceae) in Beringia and northern Japan, East Asia. Sequence variation in multiple nuclear loci revealed that P. caerulea can be distinguished into norHeredity232-8https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC4806892biostudies-literatureImportance of demographic history for phylogeographic inference on the arctic-alpine plant Phyllodoce caerulea in East Asia.PMC4806892Setoguchi HIkeda HSakaguchi SYakubov VBarkalov VfalseImportance of demographic history for phylogeographic inference on the arctic-alpine plant Phyllodoce caerulea in East Asia.Arctic-alpine plants have enormous ranges in the Northern Hemisphere. Phylogeographic studies have provided insights into their glacial survival as well as their postglacial colonization history. However, our understanding of the population dynamics of disjunct alpine populations in temperate regions remains limited. During Pleistocene cold periods, alpine populations of arctic-alpine species in East Asia were either connected to an ice-free Beringia refugium or they persisted with prolonged isolation after their establishment. To estimate which of these scenarios is more likely, we elucidated the genetic structure of Phyllodoce caerulea (Ericaceae) in Beringia and northern Japan, East Asia. Sequence variation in multiple nuclear loci revealed that P. caerulea can be distinguished into nor2016-01-01T00:00:00Z2016 Feb2025-04-04T20:13:07.02Z2019-03-27T03:10:14ZS-EPMC48068922653125010.1038/hdy.2015.95