Young kids or old migrants? Colonization versus in situ speciation of allopolyploid apomicts in European alpine sky islands
| Name: | Young kids or old migrants? Colonization versus in situ speciation of allopolyploid apomicts in European alpine sky islands |
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| Researchers: |
Chrtek Jindřich (researcher) Quiros de la Peña Begoña (member in research team) Josefiová Jiřina (member in research team) Belyayev Alexander (member in research team) Fehrer Judith (member in research team) Bertrand Yann (member in research team) |
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| Realization from: | 2022 |
| Realization to: | 2024 |
| Summary: | Evolution of the alpine flora, local endemism and biogeographical relations in European mountains are hotly debated topics in contemporary biology. In this study, we will show how allopolyploid apomicts, up-to-day nearly completely overlooked in phylogeographic studies, can help to resolve these issues. We expect that the geographical distribution of alleles and a pattern of allele sharing / exclusivity among parental ancestors and their apomictic descendants will reveal when and where the latter originated. Two mutually non-exclusive hypotheses will be tested in two hybridogeneous groups of Hieracium: Local populations of allopolyploid apomicts originated in (i) particular mountain ranges from the local stocks of parental species, or (ii) geographically more distant glacial refugia, and subsequently colonized mountain ranges. A holistic approach, comprising first of all molecular methods and in situ hybridization (GISH, FISH) will be applied. The project will provide a new perspective on the biogeography of European mountains by demonstrating the importance of endemism in apomictic species. |