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Phylogeographic study revealed microrefugia for an endemic species on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau: Rhodiola chrysanthemifolia (Crassulaceae)

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Abstract

Most phylogeographic studies on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau and in adjacent regions have focused on tree or shrub species, or on herbaceous species that mainly inhabit alpine meadows or grasslands. The phylogeography of herbaceous species that inhabit woodlands and shrubberies has been largely neglected. Here we investigate the evolutionary history of a woodland- and shrubbery-inhabited herbaceous species, Rhodiola chrysanthemifolia, which grows in southern Tibet and in the mountains of the Hengduan ecoregion. The cpDNA trnL-F, rpl20-rps12 and nrDNA ITS regions of 183 individuals from 13 populations were sequenced. The ITS dataset revealed a significant phylogeographic structure across the distribution range of R. chrysanthemifolia, while the cpDNA dataset showed no significant structure. Besides, analyses of molecular variance showed that among-population variation was described as 96.27 % of the total variation for ITS marker, much higher than that for cpDNA (63.68 %). Limited seed migration among populations together with inbreeding within populations of R. chsysanthemifolia may result in the different phylogeographic and genetic patterns for ITS and cpDNA markers in this species. A high frequency and an even distribution of private cpDNA haplotypes were discovered throughout the distribution range of R. chrysanthemifolia; ITS genotypes formed three main lineages which showed a geographical distribution pattern. Furthermore, populations with above-average gene diversity were evenly spread across the current distribution range of R. chrysanthemifolia, supporting the existence of microrefugia for this species during Last Glacial Maximum, even earlier glaciations, similar to the pattern of sympatric tree and shrub species of the Juniperus tibetica complex and Hippophae tibetana. Allopatric divergence of populations in isolated microrefugia could be responsible for large number of private cpDNA haplotypes across the current distribution range of R. chrysanthemifolia. The putative factors which drove diversification between R. chrysanthemifolia and R. alsia were also discussed.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 31200281, 31270270, 31400322), CAS “Light of West China” Program and Youth Innovation Promotion Association, CAS (Grant No. 2016378).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Adaptation and Evolution of Plateau Biota, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining, 810001, Qinghai, China

    Qing-Bo Gao, Fa-Qi Zhang, Rui Xing, Yan Li, Zhuo-Ma Gengji & Shi-Long Chen

  2. Department of Genetics, University of Leicester, Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK

    Richard J. Gornall

  3. Department of Life Sciences, Luoyang Normal University, Luoyang, 471022, Henan, China

    Peng-Cheng Fu

  4. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100039, China

    Yan Li & Zhuo-Ma Gengji

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Online Resource 1. Alignment of 20 concatenated cpDNA (rpl20-rps12+trnL-F) haplotypes plus outgroup.

Online Resource 2. Alignment of 27 ITS haplotypes plus outgroup.

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Gao, QB., Zhang, FQ., Xing, R. et al. Phylogeographic study revealed microrefugia for an endemic species on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau: Rhodiola chrysanthemifolia (Crassulaceae). Plant Syst Evol 302, 1179–1193 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-016-1324-4

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