Hybrid zone of a tree in a cerrado/atlantic forest ecotone as a hotspot of genetic diversity and conservation

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Artigo de periódico

Título alternativo

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Membros da banca

Resumo

The Cerrado, the largest Neotropical savanna, and the Brazilian Atlantic Forest form large ecotonal areas where savanna and forest habitats occupy adjacent patches with closely related species occurring side by side, providing opportunities for hybridiza-tion. Here, we investigated the evolutionary divergence between the savanna and for -est ecotypes of the widely distributed tree Plathymenia reticulata (n= 233 individuals). Genetic structure analysis of P. reticulata was congruent with the recognition of two ecotypes, whose divergence captured the largest proportion of genetic variance in the data (FCT= 0.222 and FST= 0.307). The ecotonal areas between the Cerrado and the Atlantic Forest constitute a hybrid zone in which a diversity of hybrid classes was observed, most of them corresponding to second- generation hybrids (F2) or back -crosses. Gene flow occurred mainly toward the forest ecotype. The genetic structure was congruent with isolation by environment, and environmental correlates of di -vergence were identified. The observed pattern of high genetic divergence between ecotypes may reflect an incipient speciation process in P. reticulata. The low genetic diversity of the P. reticulata forest ecotype indicate that it is threatened in areas with high habitat loss on Atlantic Forest. In addition, the high divergence from the savanna ecotype suggests it should be treated as a different unit of management. The high genetic diversity found in the ecotonal hybrid zone supports the view of ecotones as important areas for the origin and conservation of biodiversity in the Neotropics.

Abstract

Assunto

Árvores, Ecótipo, Cerrado Brasil

Palavras-chave

Neotropical tree, Plathymenia, Conservation, Ecotypes, Hybrid zone, Savanna–forest ecotone

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Curso

Endereço externo

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.8540

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