Abstract
Abstract The Brazilian region of Mato Grosso do Sul state, harbours a mosaic of vegetation and ecotones, being an environmentally heterogeneous area that includes different biomes alongside various geological formations. In addition to being conducive to diversification processes, this region provides an ideal habitat for Dyckia. We used genetic diversity and phylogeographic approaches to gain insights into the diversification process of five narrow-range plus one widespread Dyckia species endemic to such a particular region. For that, we sequenced two plastid markers and one nuclear region. The networks obtained revealed a pattern of structuring corresponding to species distributed along the eastern side of the Serra de Maracaju (MCJ), mostly highland environment, and species in the western of the MCJ, mostly in the lowlands. Furthermore, based on our phylogenetic haplotype tree, the core divergence of cpDNA Dyckia species began in the Neogene. Events such as pulses of Andean uplift, subsidence of the Pantanal, higher temperatures, less precipitation, and lower CO2 in the atmosphere, may favour the origin and diversification of certain plants, including Dyckia species. The results obtained here will contribute to understanding the evolutionary history of this genus as well as the midwest Brazilian region, which has been poorly studied.
Published Version
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