10.5061/DRYAD.3801D
Lepais, Olivier
University of Stirling
French National Institute for Agricultural Research
Muller, Serge D.
French National Centre for Scientific Research
Ben Saad-Limam, Samia
Tunis El Manar University
Benslama, Mohamed
Badji Mokhtar University
Rhazi, Laila
University of Hassan II Casablanca
Belouahem-Abed, Djamila
Institut National de Recherche Forestière
Daoud-Bouattour, Amina
Tunis El Manar University
Gammar, Amor Mokhtar
Manouba University
Ghrabi-Gammar, Zeineb
Manouba University
Bacles, Cécile Fanny Emilie
University of Stirling
Data from: High genetic diversity and distinctiveness of rear-edge climate
relicts maintained by ancient tetraploidisation for Alnus glutinosa
Dryad
dataset
2013
relict populations
Alnus glutinosa
riparian ecosystems
black alder
marginal populations
2013-10-04T15:44:46Z
2013-10-04T15:44:46Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0075029
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CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Populations located at the rear-edge of a species’ distribution may have
disproportionate ecological and evolutionary importance for biodiversity
conservation in a changing global environment. Yet genetic studies of such
populations remain rare. This study investigates the evolutionary history
of North-African low latitude marginal populations of Alnus glutinosa
Gaertn., a European tree species that plays a significant ecological role
as a keystone of riparian ecosystems. We genotyped 551 adults from 19
populations located across North Africa at 12 microsatellite loci and
applied a coalescent-based simulation approach to reconstruct the
demographic and evolutionary history of these populations. Surprisingly,
Moroccan trees were tetraploids demonstrating a strong distinctiveness of
these populations within a species otherwise known as diploid.
Best-fitting models of demographic reconstruction revealed the relict
nature of Moroccan populations that were found to have withstood past
climate change events and to be much older than Algerian and Tunisian
populations. This study highlights the complex demographic history that
can be encountered in rear-edge distribution margins that here consist of
both old stable climate relict and more recent populations, distinctively
diverse genetically both quantitatively and qualitatively. We emphasize
the high evolutionary and conservation value of marginal rear-edge
populations of a keystone riparian species in the context of on-going
climate change in the Mediterranean region.
Lepais et al Plos ONE North African alder microsatellite
dataMicrosatellite genotype file including individuals mane (ID), country
and population of origin, and allele names at 11 microsatellites.
Morocco
North Africa
Algeria
Tunisia