Abstract
Juniperus thurifera L. is an important tree endemic to the western Mediterranean basin that it is able to grow in semi-arid climates. It nowadays exhibits a disjunct distribution pattern, occurring in North Africa, Spain, France and the Italian Alps. The Strait of Gibraltar has acted as an efficient barrier against gene flow between African and European populations, which are considered different subspecies by some authors. We aimed at describing the intraspecific genetic diversity of J. thurifera in populations from the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco and the phylogeographical relationships among these populations. The ploidy level of J. thurifera was examined and eleven nuclear microsatellites (nSSRs) developed for J. thurifera were assessed for genotyping this species. Six nSSRs were polymorphic and subsequently used to assess the genetic diversity and structure of the studied populations. Genotyping of the tetraploid J. thurifera using nuclear microsatellites supports the separation of Moroccan and Spanish populations into two genetically differentiated groups that correspond to the proposed subspecies africana and thurifera. High values of within population genetic diversity were found, that accounted for 90% of the total genetic variance, while population structure was weak. The estimators of genetic diversity were higher in populations of Spain than in populations of Morocco pointing for a possible loss of genetic diversity during the spread of this species to Africa from Europe.
Highlights
Juniperus thurifera L. is a dioecious tree endemic to the western Mediterranean basin [1]
Fragmentation of J. thurifera populations was initially driven by increased aridity and warmer climates, but it is currently caused by human activities such as intense wood removal and grazing in North Africa and land use changes in the Iberian Peninsula that lead to the colonization of Juniperus stands by pines or oaks [3,5]
Ploidy level in Juniperus thurifera Flow cytometry from individuals of the two Juniperus species resulted in clear fluorescence peaks
Summary
Juniperus thurifera L. (section Sabina) is a dioecious tree endemic to the western Mediterranean basin [1]. Fragmentation of J. thurifera populations was initially driven by increased aridity and warmer climates, but it is currently caused by human activities such as intense wood removal and grazing in North Africa and land use changes in the Iberian Peninsula that lead to the colonization of Juniperus stands by pines or oaks [3,5]. Juniperus thurifera is most often found in calcareous soils in the Iberian Peninsula and acidic soils in North Africa [3]. It is an important component of woodland communities of cold and dry sites from 200 to 1800 m above sea level in the Iberian Peninsula, and in sites with subhumid cold winter climates mainly between 1800 and 3150 m above sea level in Morocco [3,6]
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