Genomic scanning using AFLP to detect loci under selection in the moss Funaria hygrometrica along a climate gradient in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Spain.

Abstract

The common cord moss Funaria hygrometrica has a worldwide distribution and thrives in a wide variety of environments. Here, we studied the genetic diversity in F.hygrometrica along an abiotic gradient in the Mediterranean high mountain of Sierra Nevada (Spain) using a genome scan method. Eighty-four samples from 17 locations from 24 to 2700m were fingerprinted based on their amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) banding pattern. Using PCA and Bayesian inference we found that the genetic diversity was structured in three or four clusters, respectively. Using a genome scan method we identified 13 outlier loci, which showed a signature of positive selection. Partial Mantel tests were performed between the Euclidean distance matrices of geographic and climatic variables, versus the pair-wise genetic distance of the AFLP dataset and AFLP-positive outliers dataset. AFLP-positive outlier data were significantly correlated with the gradient of the climatic variables, suggesting adaptive variation among populations of F.hygrometrica along the Sierra Nevada Mountains. We highlight the additional analyses necessary to identify the nature of these loci, and their biological role in the adaptation process.