Postglacial history of a widespread forest fungus in Europe suggests
migration out of multiple refugia followed by admixture
Abstract
While postglacial migration patterns have been well-studied in plants
and animals in Europe, the same is not true for microorganisms such as
fungi, and it remains unclear whether fungi have followed the same
postglacial migration trajectories. In this study, we infer the
postglacial history of the widespread wood-decay fungus Trichaptum
abietinum in Europe. We investigate whether this fungus resided in
multiple glacial refugia, as observed in many plants and animals, and
how it migrated following the retreat of the ice. Population genomic
analyses of T. abietinum suggest three glacial refugia in Europe: a
western refugium, a southern refugium extending from Portugal to the
Caucasus, and a third eastern refugium, resulting in what we call the
Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Boreal groups, respectively. From the
western and southern refugia, there have likely been northwards
expansions, while the Boreal group probably expanded westwards from the
eastern refugium. A contact zone is present in Central Europe, where the
Mediterranean and Boreal groups are admixing. In admixed individuals
here, the second half of their largest scaffold is entirely inherited
from the Boreal group, indicating either strong selection or genomic
incompatibilities. In Scandinavia, the Atlantic and Boreal groups are in
close contact but with limited admixture. Demographic modelling and
analyses of linkage decay support a recent history of contraction and
expansion of this fungus in Europe. We conclude that the postglacial
migration patterns in T. abietinum resemble those observed in several
plants and animals, suggesting multiple glacial refugia followed by
admixture during northward and westward expansions.