scholarly journals Genetic diversity and sex-bias dispersal of plateau pika in Tibetan plateau

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (19) ◽  
pp. 7708-7718 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liangzhi Zhang ◽  
Jiapeng Qu ◽  
Kexin Li ◽  
Wenjing Li ◽  
Min Yang ◽  
...  
2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhigang Wu ◽  
Xinwei Xu ◽  
Juan Zhang ◽  
Gerhard Wiegleb ◽  
Hongwei Hou

Abstract Background Due to the environmental heterogeneity along elevation gradients, alpine ecosystems are ideal study objects for investigating how ecological variables shape the genetic patterns of natural species. The highest region in the world, the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, is a hotspot for the studies of evolutionary processes in plants. Many large rivers spring from the plateau, providing abundant habitats for aquatic and amphibious organisms. In the present study, we examined the genetic diversity of 13 Ranunculus subrigidus populations distributed throughout the plateau in order to elucidate the relative contribution of geographic distance and environmental dissimilarity to the spatial genetic pattern. Results A relatively low level of genetic diversity within populations was found. No spatial genetic structure was suggested by the analyses of molecular variance, Bayesian clustering analysis and Mantel tests. Partial Mantel tests and multiple matrix regression analysis showed a significant influence of the environment on the genetic divergence of the species. Both climatic and water quality variables contribute to the habitat heterogeneity of R. subrigidus populations. Conclusions Our results suggest that historical processes involving long-distance dispersal and local adaptation may account for the genetic patterns of R. subrigidus and current environmental factors play an important role in the genetic differentiation and local adaptation of aquatic plants in alpine landscapes.


Genes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaofeng Chi ◽  
Faqi Zhang ◽  
Qingbo Gao ◽  
Rui Xing ◽  
Shilong Chen

The uplift of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) had a profound impact on the plant speciation rate and genetic diversity. High genetic diversity ensures that species can survive and adapt in the face of geographical and environmental changes. The Tanggula Mountains, located in the central of the QTP, have unique geographical significance. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the Tanggula Mountains as a geographical barrier on plant genetic diversity and structure by using Lancea tibetica. A total of 456 individuals from 31 populations were analyzed using eight pairs of microsatellite makers. The total number of alleles was 55 and the number per locus ranged from 3 to 11 with an average of 6.875. The polymorphism information content (PIC) values ranged from 0.2693 to 0.7761 with an average of 0.4378 indicating that the eight microsatellite makers were efficient for distinguishing genotypes. Furthermore, the observed heterozygosity (Ho), the expected heterozygosity (He), and the Shannon information index (I) were 0.5277, 0.4949, and 0.9394, respectively, which indicated a high level of genetic diversity. We detected high genetic differentiation among all sampling sites and restricted gene flow among populations. Bayesian-based cluster analysis (STRUCTURE), principal coordinates analysis (PCoA), and Neighbor-Joining (NJ) cluster analysis based on microsatellite markers grouped the populations into two clusters: the southern branch and the northern branch. The analysis also detected genetic barriers and restricted gene flow between the two groups separated by the Tanggula Mountains. This study indicates that the geographical isolation of the Tanggula Mountains restricted the genetic connection and the distinct niches on the two sides of the mountains increased the intraspecific divergence of the plants.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (20) ◽  
pp. 5863 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qingqing Yu ◽  
Qian Liu ◽  
Yi Xiong ◽  
Yanli Xiong ◽  
Zhixiao Dong ◽  
...  

Elymus breviaristatus is a grass species only distributed in the southeast of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP), which has suffered from serious habitat fragmentation. Therefore, understanding patterns of genetic diversity within and among natural E. breviaristatus populations could provide insight for future conservation strategies. In this study, sequence-related amplified polymorphism markers were employed to investigate the genetic diversity and hierarchical structure of seven E. breviaristatus populations from QTP, China. Multiple measures of genetic diversity indicated that there is low to moderate genetic variation within E. breviaristatus populations, consistent with its presumed mating system. In spite of its rarity, E. breviaristatus presented high genetic diversity that was equivalent to or even higher than that of widespread species. Bayesian clustering approaches, along with clustering analysis and principal coordinate analysis partitioned the studied populations of E. breviaristatus into five genetic clusters. Differentiation coefficients (Fst, GST, etc.) and AMOVA analysis revealed considerable genetic divergence among different populations. BARRIER analyses indicated that there were two potential barriers to gene flow among the E. breviaristatus populations. Despite these patterns of differentiation, genetic distances between populations were independent of geographic distances (r = 0.2197, p = 0.2534), indicating little isolation by distance. Moreover, despite detecting a common outlier by two methods, bioclimatic factors (altitude, annual mean temperature, and annual mean precipitation) were not related to diversity parameters, indicating little evidence for isolation caused by the environment. These patterns of diversity within and between populations are used to propose a conservation strategy for E. breviaristatus.


2015 ◽  
Vol 61 (4) ◽  
pp. 195-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feida Sun ◽  
Wenye Chen ◽  
Lin Liu ◽  
Wei Liu ◽  
Yimin Cai ◽  
...  

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