Current range characteristics of Swiss stone pine (Pinus cembraL.) along the Carpathians revealed by chloroplast SSR markers

Genetic structure in Pinus cembra from the Carpathian Mountains inferred from nuclear and chloroplast microsatellites confirms post-glacial range contraction and identifies introduced individuals

“…The high similarity found between the P. cembra populations from the Tatra Mountains and the Retezat Mountains is in agreement with results presented by Höhn et al (2010). However, the genetic structure observed does not follow the trend of deep phylogeographic separation found in many other high-mountain plant species from the Carpathians, where long-term isolation and restricted gene flow is typical between different mountain ranges (Ronikier 2011).…”

“…Szmidt (1982) reported surprisingly high variation within a population from the Retezat Mountains (Southern Carpathians) and substantial differentiation between the southernmost Retezat Mountains and northernmost Tatra Mountains by analyzing allozyme variation. This genetic differentiation was not confirmed later, neither by allozymes (Belokon et al 2005) nor by chloroplast microsatellites (Höhn et al 2005(Höhn et al , 2010. In fact, chloroplast microsatellites found low population differentiation and highest similarity among populations from the Retezat and the Tatra Mountains (Höhn et al 2010).…”

“…This genetic differentiation was not confirmed later, neither by allozymes (Belokon et al 2005) nor by chloroplast microsatellites (Höhn et al 2005(Höhn et al , 2010. In fact, chloroplast microsatellites found low population differentiation and highest similarity among populations from the Retezat and the Tatra Mountains (Höhn et al 2010). All these surveys as well as Goncharenko et al (1992) and Krutovsky et al (1992) reported high intra-population genetic variability in Carpathian populations of P. cembra, which was recently found to surpass genetic variability of populations from the contiguous part of the range in the Alps (Höhn et al 2009).…”

“…All these surveys as well as Goncharenko et al (1992) and Krutovsky et al (1992) reported high intra-population genetic variability in Carpathian populations of P. cembra, which was recently found to surpass genetic variability of populations from the contiguous part of the range in the Alps (Höhn et al 2009). Despite the focus of these studies on genetic patterns of Carpathian P. cembra populations, the relationship of populations from different Carpathian mountain ranges could yet not be fully clarified (Höhn et al 2010). A more detailed perception of the genetic characteristics of the scattered Carpathian P. cembra populations may be a valuable element for the general understanding of plant species' phylogeographic patterns in the Carpathian Mountains, and also to better evaluate the needs and possible actions for conservation purposes.…”

“…This study explores genetic patterns within the Carpathian range of P. cembra at both biparentally inherited nuclear microsatellites (nSSRs) and paternally inherited chloroplast microsatellites (cpSSRs). With the two complementary marker sets and expanded sample size, we aim to more precisely describe the range-wide population history that has previously been inferred by cpSSRs only (Höhn et al 2009(Höhn et al , 2010, considering both natural and human-mediated processes. Besides giving a higher resolution, the additional biparentally inherited nSSRs also allowed us to test if recent population bottlenecks occurred and whether there is inbreeding in the populations.…”