Glacial survival in northern refugia? Phylogeography of the temperate shrub Rosa pendulina L. (Rosaceae): AFLP vs. chloroplast DNA variation

Abstract

Identification of postglacial migration patterns and localization of possible glacial refugia are the main tasks of phylogeographical studies. Analyses of AFLPs in the European temperate shrub Rosa pendulina L. provided an insight into this issue. Similarly to a previous study of chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) haplotype variation in this species, we detected two widely distributed groups of AFLP genotypes that probably contributed to the postglacial colonization of Central Europe. The first group comprises populations from most of the Alps, the Balkans, and the Apennines. The second group includes populations from the Carpathians, the Bohemian Massif, and part of the Alps. However, geographical delimitation of the contact zone between these two lineages was situated slightly southward from the zone defined by cpDNA haplotypes. This might reflect different dispersal abilities of seeds and pollen. Populations from the Iberian Peninsula represent a separate genetic subgroup within the Alpine–Balkan group that apparently did not contribute to the most recent postglacial expansion of the species. Indications for glacial survival (defined by higher-than-average frequency-down-weighted marker values) were identified in the Balkan Peninsula and in the Southern Alps. However, one population at the northern edge of the Alps and one in the Western Carpathians also possessed very high values. This finding might be an indication of full-glacial survival in these regions and points out the importance of the Carpathians for the historical distributional changes of R. pendulina.