Biogeography of larches in Eastern Siberia - using single nucleotide
polymorphisms derived by genotyping by sequencing
Sarah Haupt
Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, 14473 Potsdam, Germany , Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, 14476 Potsdam, Germany
Corresponding Author:sarah.haupt@awi.de
Author ProfileUlrike Herzschuh
Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, 14473 Potsdam, Germany , Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, 14476 Potsdam, Germany , Institute of Environmental Sciences and Geography, University of Potsdam, 14476 Potsdam, Germany
Author ProfileEvgenii Zakharov
Institute of Natural Sciences, North-Eastern Federal University of Yakutsk, 677000 Yakutsk, Russia , Institute for Biological Problems of the Cryolithozone, Russian Academy of Sciences, Siberian branch, 677000 Yakutsk, Russia
Author ProfileAbstract
The present distribution of Siberian boreal forests that are dominated
by larches is influenced, to an unknown extent, by the glacial history.
Knowing the past treeline response to climate shifts can improve our
understanding of future treeline dynamics under changing climate. Here,
we study patterns in the genetic variability of Siberian larches (Larix
spp.) that can help us to unravel biogeographic migration routes since
the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). We sampled 148 larch individuals from
Eastern Siberia. For each individual, genome-wide single nucleotide
polymorphisms (SNPs) were derived through genotyping by sequencing
(GBS). We inferred the spatial distribution from 14,003 SNPs with a
cluster analysis. To infer the postglacial demographic history of Larix,
we applied an Approximate Bayesian Computation. The Bayesian population
assignment statistically supported three to four clusters from Western
to Eastern Siberia that correspond well to the geographic ranges of the
main Siberian larch species Larix sibirica, L. gmelinii, and L.
cajanderi. Using four plausible clusters, the tested hypotheses in
DIYABC show that the existing populations seem to have been initiated
long before the LGM. We presume that the different populations originate
from larch populations that survived the glacial periods. From our
genetic studies, we deduce that Larix was more likely to have survived
the cold LGM in northern refugia, from where a fast colonization of
Siberia was possible, rather than Larix completely repopulating Siberia
in the postglacial spreading out from southern areas with less harsh
climatic conditions. The northernmost expansion during the Holocene
seems to have benefitted from refugial populations ahead of the treeline
at that time, which explains the existence of Larix in the far north. We
expect from our results that the present migration will be slow at first
as there are currently no refugial populations far north, as there
probably were in the Holocene.