Abstract
The Atlantic Forest (AF) is considered the second largest tropical forest in South America with high species richness and endemisms, harboring a large diversity of animals, plants and habitats types [1]. This biome covers an area of more than one million square kilometres along the Brazilian coast and extending to eastern Paraguay and northeastern Argentina [2]. AF is considered one of the most threatened ecosystems on Earth due to intense disturbance, having been reduced to only 7.5% of its original area [1]. Despite an increase in research efforts in the past few years, studies of AF species diversification and knowledge about its evolutionary history is still scarce. Vegetation changes in the Atlantic Forest related to climatic changes during the Pleistocene have been registered in paleopalinological studies, with the replacement of large areas of forests by subtropical grasslands and savannas during cooler and drier conditions [3,4]. Also, studies of paleoclimatic models, predicted the presence of historically stable areas (refugia) in the Atlantic Forest during the Late Quaternary [5]. Eugenia uniflora L. (Myrtaceae), a shrubby tree with edible cherry-like fruits which is locally known as pitanga or Brazilian cherry. This species is one of the key species in the Atlantic rain forest geomorphological domain, which includes the Atlantic forest and the adjacent Restinga ecosystem [6]. E. unifloraoccurs in areas of medium and large levels of rainfall and can also be found in different vegetation types and ecosystems. This species present economic and folk medicinal applications and is an important pioneer species in the Restinga ecosystem and has been used to recover and manage disturbed and fragmented areas. Our aim in this study was to investigate the phylogeography and genetic diversity of Eugenia uniflora to help elucidate the evolutionary history of this species as a model for gain insights into past vegetation patterns in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.
Highlights
Introduction and objectives The AtlanticForest (AF) is considered the second largest tropical forest in South America with high species richness and endemisms, harboring a large diversity of animals, plants and habitats types [1]
* Correspondence: aturchetto@gmail.com 1Programa de Pós-Graduação em Genética e Biologia Molecular, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Brazil Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
Our aim in this study was to investigate the phylogeography and genetic diversity of Eugenia uniflora to help elucidate the evolutionary history of this species as a model for gain insights into past vegetation patterns in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest
Summary
Introduction and objectives The AtlanticForest (AF) is considered the second largest tropical forest in South America with high species richness and endemisms, harboring a large diversity of animals, plants and habitats types [1]. Vegetation changes in the Atlantic Forest related to climatic changes during the Pleistocene have been registered in paleopalinological studies, with the replacement of large areas of forests by subtropical grasslands and savannas during cooler and drier conditions [3,4]. Studies of paleoclimatic models, predicted the presence of historically stable areas (refugia) in the Atlantic Forest during the Late Quaternary [5].
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