DOI: 10.1126/science.1083264 ISSN:
Glacial Refugia: Hotspots But Not Melting Pots of Genetic Diversity
Rémy J. Petit, Itziar Aguinagalde, Jacques-Louis de Beaulieu, Christiane Bittkau, Simon Brewer, Rachid Cheddadi, Richard Ennos, Silvia Fineschi, Delphine Grivet, Martin Lascoux, Aparajita Mohanty, Gerhard Müller-Starck, Brigitte Demesure-Musch, Anna Palmé, Juan Pedro Martín, Sarah Rendell, Giovanni G. Vendramin- Multidisciplinary
Glacial refuge areas are expected to harbor a large fraction of the intraspecific biodiversity of the temperate biota. To test this hypothesis, we studied chloroplast DNA variation in 22 widespread European trees and shrubs sampled in the same forests. Most species had genetically divergent populations in Mediterranean regions, especially those with low seed dispersal abilities. However, the genetically most diverse populations were not located in the south but at intermediate latitudes, a likely consequence of the admixture of divergent lineages colonizing the continent from separate refugia.