Abstract Detail



Biogeography

Geyer, Renee [1], Everbach, Sophie [1], Douglas, Norman [2], Flores, Hilda [3], Ochoterena, Helga [4], Moore, Michael [5].

Phylogeography of Petalonyx crenatus (Loasaceae): genetic structure across a gypsum archipelago.

Gypsum soil exposures are found throughout the Chihuahuan Desert Region of Mexico and the United States. Gypsum can be a harsh soil for plants to grow on and yet numerous plants species grow only on gypsum exposures. Petalonyx crenatus is a gypsum endemic shrub that is found throughout western and central Coahuila, a state in northern Mexico. During the Pleistocene Epoch this desert biome disappeared and was replaced by a cooler, wetter climate. Many desert plants could no longer survive in this new environment. Our hypothesis is that gypsum endemics survived this non-ideal habitat because competition from other plants was reduced on gypsum since gypsum is a challenging soil for most plants to grow on. If this is correct, then gypsum endemics will have high genetic diversity across their species. Sequences of chloroplast and nuclear DNA from 5-20 P. crenatus plants per population at different geographic locations were obtained and compared. It was found that there is high genetic diversity in P. crenatus among populations and low genetic diversity within populations. This research began with 4-6 individuals per population of Petalonyx crenatus and high haplotype diversity was found indicating support for our hypothesis. This research has been continued with more individuals per population and Gst, G'st and D have been calculated for these populations of P. crenatus. An AMOVA was also done for these chloroplast sequences. These statistics showed high variation between populations and low variation within each population.


1 - Oberlin College, Department of Biology, 119 Woodland St, Oberlin, OH, 44074, USA
2 - University Of Florida, Biology, PO Box 118525, Gainesville, FL, 32611, United States
3 - Instituto De Biologia, UNAM, Departamento de Botanica, Apdo.Postal 70-367, Coyoacan, Mexico, DF, 04510, Mexico
4 - Instituto De Biología, UNAM, Botanica, Depto Botánica-Apdo.Postal 70-367, Coyoacan, Mexico DF, 04510, Mexico
5 - Oberlin College, Department Of Biology, 119 Woodland St., Science Center K111, Oberlin, OH, 44074, United States

Keywords:
Phylogeopraphy
Loasaceae
Gypsum
Mexico
Chihuahuan Desert.

Presentation Type: Poster
Session: P, Biogeography Posters
Location: Virtual/Virtual
Date: Monday, July 27th, 2020
Time: 5:00 PM Time and date to be determined
Number: PBG003
Abstract ID:286
Candidate for Awards:None


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