RT Journal Article
T1 Selection by climatic regime and neutral evolutionary processes in holocentric chromosomes (Carex gr. laevigata: Cyperaceae): A microevolutionary approach
A1 Escudero, Marcial
A1 Maguilla Salado, Enrique
A1 Luceño Garcés, Modesto
K1 Carex
K1 Cyperaceae
K1 Generalized linear mixed models
K1 Recombination rate optima
K1 Suppression of recombination
AB The holocentric structure promotes chromosome rearrangements by fission, fusion, translocation, and inversion, which have been thought to promote differentiation and speciation. The Carex laevigata group (Cyperaceae) comprises four species: two restricted endemics from the western Mediterranean (Carex camposii, 2n = 72, and Carex paulo-vargasii, 2n = 74–75), and two more widespread species, found mostly in Western Europe (C. laevigata, 2n = 69–84, and Carex binervis, 2n = 72–74). We tested the selection for chromosome number by climatic variables by controlling for the non-independence of the data using generalized linear mixed model (GLMM). We obtained chromosome counts as well as DNA sequences for the 5  trnK intron and the trnV-ndhC intergenic spacer in the chloroplast genome from 181 individuals from 53 populations representing these four species. We also climatically characterized the sites where the 53 populations were found using the WorldClim database. Our results show that the best predictor of chromosome number variation is the climatic environment rather than neutral evolutionary processes like founder events and migration patterns. These results support the adaptive value of the holocentric chromosomes and their role in promoting differentiation and eventually speciation.
PB Elsevier
YR 2013
FD 2013-03-07
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10433/19913
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10433/19913
LA en
NO Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics, vol. 15, p. 118-129.
NO This manuscript was supported by the Spanish Government (CGL2009-09972 to ML (IP) and ME) and the MEC-Fulbright fellowship (FU2009-0946 to ME).
NO Departamento de Biología Molecular e Ingeniería Bioquímica, Universidad Pablo de Olavide
NO The Morton Arboretum
DS RIO
RD May 9, 2026