Póster presentado al XIX International Botanical Congress (IBC 2017), celebrado del 23 al 29 de julio de 2017, en Shenzhen, ChinaCynara is a Mediterranean genus from the family Compositae that currently includes nine species. One of them is Cynara baetica, a diploid (2n = 34) perennial herb distributed in both sides of Strait of Gibraltar (the gateway between Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea). Historically, it was described as two different species:
(1) Cynara alba, that grows in open areas in deep and nitrogenous soils on calcareous bedrocks at altitudes between 500 and 1700 m in southern Spain, and (2) Cynara hystrix, that occurs in roadside ditches and open areas under the same soil conditions at somewhat higher altitudes (from 900 to 2100 m) in northern Morocco.
In 1992, a morphologic study carried out by A. Wiklund merged these two species in one (Cynara baetica) although separated into two subspecies: C. baetica subsp. baetica, for the Spanish populations;
and C. baetica subsp. marocanna, for the Moroccan ones. The aims of the present study are to: (i) analyse the genetic diversity within and between Cynara baetica populations, including samples from the two subspecies (subsp. baetica and subsp. maroccana); (ii) infer the phylogeographic pattern of C. baetica and the role of Strait of Gibraltar as a barrier; (iii) test whether there are morphologic, genetic and/or ecological differences between
both subspecies; and (iv) provide conservation guidelines. To achieve these goals, and following the most recent approximations on species delimitation, phylogenetic and population genetic analyses (based on both nuclear¿three AFLP primer combinations¿and plastid¿two cpDNA regions¿DNA markers) were combined with ecological niche modelling (ENM) and morphologic studies. Results obtained showed a clear genetic, morphological and ecological differentiation between the two subspecies. According to these results the current taxonomic treatment is modified and the conservation guidelines are proposed according this taxonomical change.Peer reviewe
