Range shifts of Potentilla fruticosa on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau during glacial and interglacial periods revealed by chloroplast DNA sequence variation

Abstract

The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is one of the most extensive habitats for alpine plants in the world. Therefore, the patterns of genetic variation in populations on the Plateau can reveal the detailed demographic history of alpine plants. We analysed the geographical structure of chloroplast matK sequence variation in Potentilla fruticosa L. (Rosaceae), a shrub currently found across the entire Plateau. We obtained sequence data from 508 individuals from 23 populations at sites ranging from the high-altitude interior to the relatively low-altitude northeastern Plateau. In the interior region, genetic diversity was high and included ancestral haplotypes. In contrast, northeastern populations were characterized by relatively low genetic diversity and recently derived haplotypes. The estimated expansion time in the interior population was 17 times that in the northeastern population. These data suggest that P. fruticosa expanded its range on the Plateau during periods of climatic cooling and contracted to the interior region during warmer periods. Thus, the interior region acted as a refugium and greatly contributed to the diversification of P. fruticosa.

Phylogeography of the Sino-Himalayan Fern Lepisorus clathratus on “The Roof of the World”

“…In an alternative scenario, plants in the QTP show high genetic diversity and ancestral haplotypes, which suggest an in situ survival during the LGM on the plateau [13], [18]. Nevertheless, our study reveals a distinct phylogeographical history of plants occurring in the QTP, which has not been reported before.…”

“…However, our knowledge of phylogeographical histories of organisms occurring in the QTP and HHM as well as causal correlations with climatic fluctuations has been limited so far, due to finite phylogeographical studies in the QTP and its adjacent areas in particular for plants [8]–[18]. Interestingly, these studies suggest remarkable differences in the phylogeographical history of the species involved, although two main patterns might be inferred.…”

“…The first common pattern is found in species that probably survived in refugia on the eastern edge of the central plateau during the interglacial and postglacial periods, such as Pedicularis longiflora [12] and Juniperus przewalskii [9]. The second common pattern is found in cold-tolerant species, such as Potentilla fruticosa [18] and Aconitum gymnandrum [13], which may have survived in high-altitude parts of the plateau during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). These taxa may have maintained their range perhaps also during previous Pleistocene glaciations, in which no massive ice sheets were developed on the QTP [19].…”

Evolutionary diversifications of plants on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

“…Several studies suggested refugia in the Hengduan Mountains on the eastern border of the QTP (Zhang et al, 2010; Wang et al, 2011b). It has been suggested that advances of the Tibetan glaciers were less prominent than other regions in the Northern Hemisphere, likely due to arid conditions and complex topography, and potential habitats for cold-tolerant species could be found in the plateau and served as refugia in the interior Central regions of the QTP during interglacial periods in the Quaternary (Schäfer et al, 2002; Wang et al, 2009a,2011b; Shimono et al, 2010). …”

Phytochemical profiles, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of three Potentilla species

“…In China, P. fruticosa also called “Jinlaomei” and “Gesanghua”, its altitude ranges from 400 to 5000 m [13]. Apart from its common gardening applications, it also has numerous medicinal virtues [14].…”