<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p><italic>Juniperus excelsa</italic> s. str. (Greek juniper) in Crimea is a relic species on the limits of its range, and represents the Mediterranean flora in the Sub-Mediterranean part of the peninsula. Its origin and history in this area remains unresolved. We aimed to analyze phylogeny and potential demographic expansion of the juniper in the Crimea as well as to study its morphological differentiation. We analyzed plant material from 59 trees inhabiting eight populations. Genetic variation assessments were based on the four non-coding chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) fragments and the nuclear internal transcribed spacer region ITS1-5,8S-ITS2 (ITS). To examine the morphological differentiation, eight measured/counted traits of cones, seeds, and shoots were chosen and eight ratios were calculated. Morphological parameters were compared using ANOVA, Student’s <italic>t</italic> test, discrimination analysis and Kruskal-Wallis and U Mann-Whitney tests. Two cpDNA fragments were polymorphic and, in total, 10 cpDNA haplotypes were found. Haplotype diversity (H<sub>d</sub>) ranged from 0.0 to 0.9. Based on both cpDNA and ITS sequences variation, phylogenetic analyses revealed a close relationship of the Crimean junipers to the individuals from other parts of the species range. In general, our molecular results confirmed the low level of genetic differentiation of <italic>J. excelsa</italic> individuals inhabiting different parts of the species range, likely resulting from a common ancestry. Only slight morphological differences were found between populations with different geographic location or habitat. The analyzes showed the distinctness of the populations from the southern part of the coast. Some unique morphological and molecular features of southern coastal populations imply that they are remnants of Late Pleistocene abundant forests. We suggest that the recent fragmentation of the <italic>Juniperus</italic> populations in the Crimean Peninsula could have arisen during the Atlantic period of the Holocene.</p>
</abstract>

Juniperus excelsa s. str. (Greek juniper) in Crimea is a relic species on the limits of its range, and represents the Mediterranean flora in the Sub-Mediterranean part of the peninsula. Its origin and history in this area remains unresolved. We aimed to analyze phylogeny and potential demographic expansion of the juniper in the Crimea as well as to study its morphological differentiation. We analyzed plant material from 59 trees inhabiting eight populations. Genetic variation assessments were based on the four non-coding chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) fragments and the nuclear internal transcribed spacer region ITS1-5,8S-ITS2 (ITS). To examine the morphological differentiation, eight measured/counted traits of cones, seeds, and shoots were chosen and eight ratios were calculated. Morphological parameters were compared using ANOVA, Student’s t test, discrimination analysis and Kruskal-Wallis and U Mann-Whitney tests. Two cpDNA fragments were polymorphic and, in total, 10 cpDNA haplotypes were found. Haplotype diversity (Hd) ranged from 0.0 to 0.9. Based on both cpDNA and ITS sequences variation, phylogenetic analyses revealed a close relationship of the Crimean junipers to the individuals from other parts of the species range. In general, our molecular results confirmed the low level of genetic differentiation of J. excelsa individuals inhabiting different parts of the species range, likely resulting from a common ancestry. Only slight morphological differences were found between populations with different geographic location or habitat. The analyzes showed the distinctness of the populations from the southern part of the coast. Some unique morphological and molecular features of southern coastal populations imply that they are remnants of Late Pleistocene abundant forests. We suggest that the recent fragmentation of the Juniperus populations in the Crimean Peninsula could have arisen during the Atlantic period of the Holocene.

<italic>Juniperus excelsa</italic> s. str. in crimea – differentiation and history inferred from genetic and morphological markers

Faculty of Science, Centre of the Region Haná for Biotechnological and Agricultural Research, Department of Cell Biology

Department of Cell Biology and Biotechnology

Folia Forestalia Polonica

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

 s. str. in crimea – differentiation and history inferred from genetic and morphological markers

Juniperus excelsa s. str. (Greek juniper) in Crimea is a relic species on the limits of its range, and represents the Mediterranean flora in the...

Juniperus excelsa s. str. in crimea – differentiation and history inferred from genetic and morphological markers

Article Category: Original Article

Pubblicato online: 11 dic 2021

Pagine: 276 - 288

Ricevuto: 02 ago 2021

Accettato: 01 set 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ffp-2021-0028

Parole chiave
biometry, cpDNA, Crimean Sub-Mediterranean, isolated populations, juniper, ITS

© 2021 Małgorzata Mazur et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Juniperus excelsa s. str. in crimea – differentiation and history inferred from genetic and morphological markers

Article Category: Original Article

Pubblicato online: 11 dic 2021

Pagine: 276 - 288

Ricevuto: 02 ago 2021

Accettato: 01 set 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ffp-2021-0028

Parole chiavebiometry, cpDNA, Crimean Sub-Mediterranean, isolated populations, juniper, ITS

© 2021 Małgorzata Mazur et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Parole chiave
biometry, cpDNA, Crimean Sub-Mediterranean, isolated populations, juniper, ITS