Divergence of alpine plant populations of three Gentianaceae species in the Qinling sky Island
Abstract Background Known for their unique biodiversity, the Qinling Mountains are considered the only area in which alpine biomes occur in central China. Given that the alpine biomes are particularly sensitive to global warming, understanding how alpine plants respond to climatic fluctuations is es...
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| Language: | English |
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BMC
2025-02-01
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| Series: | BMC Plant Biology |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-025-06165-x |
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| author | Peng-Cheng Fu Bing-Jie Mo He-Xin Wan Shu-Wen Yang Rui Xing Shan-Shan Sun |
| author_facet | Peng-Cheng Fu Bing-Jie Mo He-Xin Wan Shu-Wen Yang Rui Xing Shan-Shan Sun |
| author_sort | Peng-Cheng Fu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Known for their unique biodiversity, the Qinling Mountains are considered the only area in which alpine biomes occur in central China. Given that the alpine biomes are particularly sensitive to global warming, understanding how alpine plants respond to climatic fluctuations is essential for the evolution and conservation of biodiversity. To address this issue, three alpine species of the Gentianaceae (Gentiana crassuloides, G. hexaphylla and Swertia bifolia) that represent different life types and diverse genera were selected. Results Genetic clustering analysis according to around 33,317 to 185,133 SNPs showed that the Qinling population was a separate lineage within each species. A high level of genetic differentiation was observed among the Qinling populations and the other populations of each species. Divergence time estimation based on plastomes and approximate Bayesian computation based on genomic SNPs showed that Qinling populations of the three Gentianaceae species originated at different periods under various patterns including primary source and hybridization. Significant signals of isolation by distance and isolation by environment were found in all three species. The redundancy and gradient forest analyses revealed that several temperature- and precipitation-related variables mainly contributed to shaping the genetic differentiation among the Qinling populations and others, indicating that the three species exhibited a similar pattern of adaptations to local environments. Conclusions This study unveiled the unique genetic and evolutionary features of the Qinling populations of these three species and elucidated the contributing role of both the environmental gradient and geographical isolation in genetic differentiation, which scientifically supports future conservation efforts. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3503e24fcd0f4c1382c61f6d081369fa |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1471-2229 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Plant Biology |
| spelling | doaj-art-3503e24fcd0f4c1382c61f6d081369fa2025-02-09T12:27:46ZengBMCBMC Plant Biology1471-22292025-02-0125111710.1186/s12870-025-06165-xDivergence of alpine plant populations of three Gentianaceae species in the Qinling sky IslandPeng-Cheng Fu0Bing-Jie Mo1He-Xin Wan2Shu-Wen Yang3Rui Xing4Shan-Shan Sun5School of Life Science, Luoyang Normal UniversitySchool of Life Science, Luoyang Normal UniversitySchool of Life Science, Luoyang Normal UniversitySchool of Life Science, Luoyang Normal UniversityKey Laboratory of Adaptation and Evolution of Plateau Biota, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of SciencesSchool of Life Science, Luoyang Normal UniversityAbstract Background Known for their unique biodiversity, the Qinling Mountains are considered the only area in which alpine biomes occur in central China. Given that the alpine biomes are particularly sensitive to global warming, understanding how alpine plants respond to climatic fluctuations is essential for the evolution and conservation of biodiversity. To address this issue, three alpine species of the Gentianaceae (Gentiana crassuloides, G. hexaphylla and Swertia bifolia) that represent different life types and diverse genera were selected. Results Genetic clustering analysis according to around 33,317 to 185,133 SNPs showed that the Qinling population was a separate lineage within each species. A high level of genetic differentiation was observed among the Qinling populations and the other populations of each species. Divergence time estimation based on plastomes and approximate Bayesian computation based on genomic SNPs showed that Qinling populations of the three Gentianaceae species originated at different periods under various patterns including primary source and hybridization. Significant signals of isolation by distance and isolation by environment were found in all three species. The redundancy and gradient forest analyses revealed that several temperature- and precipitation-related variables mainly contributed to shaping the genetic differentiation among the Qinling populations and others, indicating that the three species exhibited a similar pattern of adaptations to local environments. Conclusions This study unveiled the unique genetic and evolutionary features of the Qinling populations of these three species and elucidated the contributing role of both the environmental gradient and geographical isolation in genetic differentiation, which scientifically supports future conservation efforts.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-025-06165-xClimatic changeGenetic divergenceGenomic SNPsGentianaceaePlastomeQinghai-tibet plateau |
| spellingShingle | Peng-Cheng Fu Bing-Jie Mo He-Xin Wan Shu-Wen Yang Rui Xing Shan-Shan Sun Divergence of alpine plant populations of three Gentianaceae species in the Qinling sky Island BMC Plant Biology Climatic change Genetic divergence Genomic SNPs Gentianaceae Plastome Qinghai-tibet plateau |
| title | Divergence of alpine plant populations of three Gentianaceae species in the Qinling sky Island |
| title_full | Divergence of alpine plant populations of three Gentianaceae species in the Qinling sky Island |
| title_fullStr | Divergence of alpine plant populations of three Gentianaceae species in the Qinling sky Island |
| title_full_unstemmed | Divergence of alpine plant populations of three Gentianaceae species in the Qinling sky Island |
| title_short | Divergence of alpine plant populations of three Gentianaceae species in the Qinling sky Island |
| title_sort | divergence of alpine plant populations of three gentianaceae species in the qinling sky island |
| topic | Climatic change Genetic divergence Genomic SNPs Gentianaceae Plastome Qinghai-tibet plateau |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-025-06165-x |
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