Localized environmental heterogeneity drives the population differentiation of two endangered and endemic Opisthopappus Shih species

Abstract

Background: Climate heterogeneity not only indirectly shapes the genetic structures of plant populations, but also drives adaptive divergence by impacting demographic dynamics. The variable localized climate and topographic complexity of the Taihang Mountains make them a major natural boundary in Northern China that influences the divergence of organisms distributed in this region. Opisthopappus is an endemic genus of the Taihang Mountains that includes only two spatially partitioned species Opisthopappus longilobus and Opisthopappus taihangensis. For this study, potential major indicators were investigated to explore those associated with the genetic variations in Opisthopappus populations. Results: The findings revealed that a significant genetic differentiation existed between O. longilobus and O. taihangensis populations. All identified haplotypes/studied populations were divided into two distinct groups. The considerable variability was due not only to geographic factors, but also environmental variables. At approximately 13.2 Ma of the Middle Miocene, O. taihangensis differentiated from O. longilobus under a strengthening East Asian monsoon and global cooling. Subsequently, with the uplift of the Taihang Mountains, the complex topography further promoted the variation between the two species and populations. Among environmental factors, five climatic variables, isothermality (bio3), min temperature of coldest month (bio6), mean temperature of wettest quarter (bio8), precipitation of driest month (bio14) and precipitation of wettest quarter (bio16) were demonstrated to be critical toward shaping the genetic components and genetic differentiation of the Opisthopappus species. Moreover, bio6 and bio14 had more driving force than others.Conclusions: The temperature and precipitation of the Taihang Mountains during winter are the key environmental indicators responsible for the current genetic distribution. Our study revealed the importance of localized climatic events by taking the small-scale spatial effects of climate heterogeneity and its impacts on genetic variation into account.

[Retracted] A Preliminary Study on the Dramatic Factors of Ancient Chinese Poetry under the Changing Geographical Environment

“…The main scope is roughly the west of the Pacific Ocean, east of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, north of the South China Sea, and south of the Mongolian Plateau, which is the “Huaxia” in history, which also constitutes China [ 9 ]. Among them, the most stable ruling area is south of the Yinshan Mountains and the middle reaches of the Liaohe River and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the east of the Hengduan Mountains in the mainland of China [ 10 ]. It is concentrated in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River [ 11 ].…”

Responses of aroma related metabolic attributes of Opisthopappus longilobus flowers to environmental changes

“…Within the Opisthopappus genus, Opisthopappus taihangensis is another cliff residing species that is primarily located in Henan Province, China. Based on our previous study, O. taihangensis is regarded as a descendant of O. longilobus [23]. They diverged during the early Miocene under differing precipitation regimes due to the intensi cation of the Asian monsoon [23].…”

Adaptation Insights from Comparative Transcriptome Analysis of Two Opisthopappus Species in the Taihang Mountains

“…During the long-term evolution of Opisthopappus, the dramatic geological changes and signi cant topographical barriers of Taihang Mountains could limit the large-scale population expansion and gradually introduce heterogeneity within different populations of O. taihangensis and O. longilobus [28]. O. taihangensis and O. longilobus likely diverged during the early Miocene under a strengthening East Asian monsoon [29]. Subsequently, the dramatic climatic transformation and complex topography of the Taihang Mountains further promoted variations between the two species and their populations [29].…”

“…O. taihangensis and O. longilobus likely diverged during the early Miocene under a strengthening East Asian monsoon [29]. Subsequently, the dramatic climatic transformation and complex topography of the Taihang Mountains further promoted variations between the two species and their populations [29]. At the present, O. taihangensis and O. longilobus occupy different niches due to difference in growth habits [30].…”

“…Utilizing transcriptome data, it was revealed that there were 3410 differentially expressed genes among two species, which primarily involved lipid, carbohydrate, and amino acid metabolism, as well as xenobiotic biodegradation and metabolism [28,34]. Thus, according to the current geographical distribution of O. taihangensis and O. longilobus, we presumed that adaptive divergence processes might have played an additional role in maintaining the differentiation of the two Opisthopappus species that inhabit different regions of the Taihang Mountains [29].…”