CORE
🇺🇦
make metadata, not war
Services
Services overview
Explore all CORE services
Access to raw data
API
Dataset
FastSync
Content discovery
Recommender
Discovery
OAI identifiers
OAI Resolver
Managing content
Dashboard
Bespoke contracts
Consultancy services
Support us
Support us
Membership
Sponsorship
Community governance
Advisory Board
Board of supporters
Research network
About
About us
Our mission
Team
Blog
FAQs
Contact us
Molecular data suggest long-term in Situ Antarctic persistence within Antarctica's most speciose plant genus, Schistidium
Authors
EM Biersma
P Convey
+4 more
H Griffiths
JA Jackson
K Linse
M Stech
Publication date
1 January 2018
Publisher
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
Doi
Cite
Abstract
© 2018 Biersma, Jackson, Stech, Griffiths, Linse and Convey. From glacial reconstructions it is clear that Antarctic terrestrial life must have been extremely limited throughout Quaternary glacial periods. In contrast, recent biological studies provide clear evidence for long-term in situ persistence throughout glacial times within most extant Antarctic faunal and several microbial groups. However, even now, the evolutionary history of the Antarctic flora-despite playing major role in Antarctic ecosystems-remains poorly studied. We assessed the diversity, richness and relative age divergences within Schistidium (Grimmiaceae, Bryophyta), the most species-rich plant genus in the Antarctic, as well as the plant genus containing most Antarctic endemic species. We applied phylogenetic and molecular dating methods based on nuclear ribosomal Internal Transcribed Spacer sequences, including all known Antarctic Schistidium species with available sample material. We additionally investigated the continent-wide genetic diversity within the most common Antarctic representative of the genus-the endemic species Schistidium antarctici-and performed preliminary phylogeographic analyses of the bipolar species Schistidium rivulare. Most previously described Antarctic Schistidium species were genetically distinct, confirming their specific status. Interspecific divergences of all species took place at least ~1 Mya, suggesting a likely in situ persistence in Antarctica for (at least) all endemic Schistidium species. The widespread endemic species, Schistidium antarctici, diverged from other Antarctic congeners in the late Miocene, thereby revealing the oldest extant plant species currently known in Antarctica, and providing increasing support for the hypothesis of vegetation survival through multiple glacial periods. Within S. antarctici we identified several distinct clades dividing the eastern Antarctic Peninsula and Scotia Arc islands from the western Antarctic Peninsula and all continental locations. This suggests that the mountainous spine on the Antarctic Peninsula forms a strong barrier to gene flow in this species, while increased genetic diversity in the northern Maritime Antarctic indicates likely glacial refugia in this area. This study provides an important first step toward assessing the diversity and evolutionary history of the most speciose moss genus in the Antarctic. The multi-million year presence of several endemic species contributes to studies on their adaptive potential to survive climate change over both historical and contemporary timescales.NERC STUDENTSHIP NE/K50094X/
Similar works
Full text
Open in the Core reader
Download PDF
Available Versions
Frontiers - Publisher Connector
See this paper in CORE
Go to the repository landing page
Download from data provider
Last time updated on 05/06/2019
Crossref
See this paper in CORE
Go to the repository landing page
Download from data provider
info:doi/10.3389%2Ffevo.2018.0...
Last time updated on 02/11/2020
Sustaining member
Apollo (Cambridge)
See this paper in CORE
Go to the repository landing page
Download from data provider
oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1...
Last time updated on 12/01/2019
NERC Open Research Archive
See this paper in CORE
Go to the repository landing page
Download from data provider
oai:nora.nerc.ac.uk:518559
Last time updated on 04/06/2018