Közgazdaságtudományi és Államigazgatási Egyetem

Spatial genetic structure in Swiss stone pine
suggests a region-specific population history
of the species along the Carpathian range
Höhn Maria, Klara Cseke, Giovanni Giuseppe Vendramin,
Felix Gugerli
Pinus cembra L.– Swiss stone pine
Five needle pine
haploxylon type
Section Strobi, subsection Cembrae
wingless seeds
Nucifraga caryocatactes
Distribution and ecology
Distribution range of the species in Europe following the Euforgen database
(2004)
Glacial relict
PROTECTED!
- Closely related to Pinus cembra subsp. sibirica that covers large areas in
the
Siberian region.
- The natural range is restricted to the subalpine forests of the Alps, the
Carpathians including the Tatra.
- Important element of European high mountain ecosystems.
The largest stands are concentrated along the Central Alps:
- altitudinal range: 1500 to 2400 m. (upper limit: physiological
boundary)
- mixed stands: associated mainly with Larix decidua
Swiss Alps - Rautialp
Small, isolated populations occur in the Carpathians and the Tatra.
- between 1300-1700m.
- scattered individuals between 900-1985m.
- mixed stands mainly with spruce at the uppermost forest belt.
- small groups at the subalpine region among Pinus mugo.
Swiss stone pine forest in the Calimani Mt.
Habitat characteristics:
- Glacial valleys, rocky surfaces on scheletic
soils.
- Grow rate of the trees is generally low:
to reach 2-3m high takes about 50 years.
when trees are rooting in rock craks this
period
might be even longer.
- Trees often fall-down following a storm,
but it happens that one branch of the tree survives
and grow further on forming a new trunk.
- Oldest living trees found in the Carpathians have a
trunk diameter of 80 to 94cm, and
age of 260 to 400 years (Soran – Bercea 1981,
Ábrán-Höhn 1986). From the Alps 500 and even
1000 years old individuals were reported.
- Frost resistence of the trees is considered to be
high.
striking frost cracks inside the xylem of the old
Popa – Kern – Nagy (2006)
History
-
Pleistocene: wide distribution
-
Area fragmentation, withdrawal during the
last 100 thousands years.
-
At the end of the glacial: present even on
the lowland. (palinologycal, charcoal records,Willis
2000)
-
Postglacial: retreat of populations to high
elevations.
-
Finally, about 5000 years ago replaced by
spruce (Farcas-Tantau 1999).
Aim of the study
-
Spatial distribution of the genetic variation.
-
Genetic distance among populations.
-
Gene-stock of the Carpathians compared
to that preserved in the Alps.
-
Possible refugees and postglacial
colonization routes along the Carpathians.
We expected higher diversity in the Alps
compared to the Carpathians and higher
genetic differentiation in the peripheral as
compared to central populations.
Materials and Methods
290,3km
9 native populations studied from the High Tatras to the Southern
Carpathians (N= 238)
4(6) chloroplast DNA simple sequence repeats (cp SSR); paternally
inherited (Pt 26081, Pt36480, Pt63718 Pt15169,Vendramin et al. 1996)
6 nuclear DNA simple sequence repeats (nSSR)
(Pc 18, Pc1b, Pc22, Pc23, Pc35, Pc7, Salzer et al. 2009)
Size variants of the DNA
fragment lenght
Pt30204
140
Pt15169
127
haplotype
Pt30204
141
Pt15169
126
Results
Ambivalent position of the Retezat
populations
UPGMA clustering based on nuclear
microsatellites positioned Gemenele
apart from all the other populations,
even from those of the SouthCarpathians.
- Results not supported by paternally
inherited chloroplast microsatellite
evaluation.
- UPGMA clusters are not
correlated with the geographic
position of the populations.
Mantel test: Considering the whole distribution range, found no
correlation between genetic and geographical distance along the
studied distribution range!
We found a significant positive correlation up to 280km (r = 0,6113;
p=0,02) which is the maximum distance between two neighbouring
populations
Sz – Velka Studena Dolina Tatra (Slo)
Re – Gemenele, Retezat (Ro)
Ret - Gentiana (Ro)
L - Morskie Oko (Po)
U – Kedryn (Ucr)
Su – Neagra Sarului, Calimani (Ro)
K – Negoiu, Calimani (Ro)
C - Cindrel (Ro)
R – Borsa Rodnei(Ro)
Relations hip between populations
according to hierarchial clustering
by Manhattan metric
The frequency distribution of the haplotypes and Shannon diversity indices
along the Tatra and Retezat does not differ significantly (Chi2 test)
Magyari et al. (2009)
Vegetation reconstruction from the
Late glacial interstadial period
(~13,350 calyr BP) in the Retezat
Mountains (Ro)
Two possible colonization routes towards the Eastern
Carpathians!
Population diversity along the two parts of the
distribution range based on haplotype content
Average haplotypic diversity in the two geographical
region based on three cpSSR
0,7
Haplotypic divesity
0,6
0,5
0,4
0,3
0,2
0,1
0
Carpathians
Alps
Höhn et al
2009.
Conclusions:
- Carpathians are important in terms of accumulation of
genetic diversity.
- Rich gene-stock in the Mt. Retezat populations.
- No correlation between genetic and geographic
distance along the Carpathian range.
- Presumed multiple colonization routes from glacial
refugia.
- The Tatras needs fossil record study.
The population genetic structure revealed by cp SSR
reinforced contrasting postglacial history of the
Carpathian stone pine populations compared to those
from the Alps.
Nuclear SSR should be tested!
Notes on the genetic pattern:
1. The population’s life strategies, the strong selection pressure
on the extreme habitats, the limited gene flow and random
effects can considerably influence the present population
variation and species range characteristics.
2. The Holocene reduction in the Carpathian pine area caused by
the global climatic changes and the ever increasing
anthropogenic impact at the same time, might be other
important aspects that make us understand the present
population structure.
Thank you for your attention!