Genome-Wide Data Uncover Cryptic Diversity With Multiple Reticulation Events in the Balkan-Anatolian Cardamine...

Area of Science:

• Evolutionary Biology
• Plant Systematics
• Biogeography

Background:

• Plant species diversity is often underestimated, particularly in complex genera and biodiversity hotspots like the Balkan Peninsula.
• The hygrophytic mountain species complex of Cardamine acris s.l. in the Balkans and Anatolia presents an opportunity to study underexplored diversity and evolutionary processes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the evolutionary and biogeographic processes shaping plant diversity within the Cardamine acris complex.
• To resolve taxonomic uncertainties and identify cryptic lineages within Cardamine acris s.l.

Main Methods:

• Phylogenetic and phylogeographic analyses utilizing restriction-site associated DNA sequencing (RADseq) and target enrichment (Hyb-Seq) data.
• Habitat suitability modeling to understand species distribution dynamics.
• Analysis of genetic data to identify cryptic lineages, hybridization, and polyploidization events.

Main Results:

• Identified Cardamine anatolica as a clade nested within the Balkan Cardamine acris, likely due to a founder event.
• Uncovered three cryptic lineages within Cardamine acris subsp. acris, leading to the recognition of six distinct entities.
• Observed deep genetic divergence in western Balkans within C. acris subsp. acris, contradicting current taxonomy, and detected significant polyploidization events.

Conclusions:

• Diverse evolutionary processes, including vicariance, reticulation, polyploidization, and cryptic diversification, have shaped mountain plant species in the Balkan Peninsula.
• The study underscores the importance of integrating molecular data with ecological modeling to reveal hidden plant diversity and complex evolutionary histories.