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Contrasting diversification patterns across wood rushes from Luzula sect. Luzula (Juncaceae) revealed by 3RAD
Carolina Carrizo García1, Valentin Heimer2, Peter Schönswetter3
1Centro Ricerca e Innovazione, Fondazione Edmund Mach, Via Mach 1, 38098 San Michele all'Adige, Italy; Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (CONICET-UNC), Av. Vélez Sarsfield 1611, 5000 Córdoba, Argentina.
Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution
|September 4, 2025
Summary
Chromosomal rearrangements drive plant evolution. In Luzula, chromosome fission (agmatoploidy) and fusion (symploidy) create diverse karyotypes, with at least two independent agmatoploidy events in the Pleistocene.
Area of Science:
- Plant evolutionary biology
- Genomics and cytogenetics
- Phylogenetics
Background:
- Plant diversification is often driven by chromosomal rearrangements.
- Holocentric chromosomes in Luzula allow for fission (agmatoploidy) and fusion (symploidy), leading to karyotypic diversity.
- Luzula sect. Luzula in the European Alps provides a model system to study these processes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate evolutionary trends and genetic diversification patterns in Luzula sect. Luzula.
- To reconstruct phylogenetic relationships among Luzula sections.
- To understand the role of agmatoploidy in diversification.
Main Methods:
- Genome-wide sequencing (3RAD data) and plastid DNA analysis.
- Phylogenetic inference and molecular dating.
- Karyotype analysis and comparison.
Main Results:
- Luzula sect. Luzula comprises three distinct lineages with varied evolutionary histories.
- Agmatoploidy is present in two clades, indicating at least two independent evolutionary origins.
- Phylogenetic analysis revealed non-monophyletic relationships in related Luzula sections.
- Evidence for trans-continental migrations, including between Europe and Africa, was found.
Conclusions:
- Chromosomal rearrangements, particularly agmatoploidy, play a significant role in the diversification of Luzula.
- Multiple independent origins of agmatoploidy occurred in the mid- to late Pleistocene.
- Luzula diversification is shaped by a combination of chromosomal changes, reticulation, and migration.
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