Genetic and ecological insights into glacial refugia of walnut (Juglans regia L.).

The distribution and survival of trees during the last glacial maximum (LGM) has been of interest to paleoecologists, biogeographers, and geneticists. Ecological niche models that associate species occurrence and abundance with climatic variables are widely used to gain ecological and evolutionary i...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mallikarjuna Aradhya, Dianne Velasco, Zakir Ibrahimov, Biimyrza Toktoraliev, David Maghradze, Mirza Musayev, Zviadi Bobokashvili, John E Preece
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2017-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5638312?pdf=render
_version_ 1828465788824059904
author Mallikarjuna Aradhya
Dianne Velasco
Zakir Ibrahimov
Biimyrza Toktoraliev
David Maghradze
Mirza Musayev
Zviadi Bobokashvili
John E Preece
author_facet Mallikarjuna Aradhya
Dianne Velasco
Zakir Ibrahimov
Biimyrza Toktoraliev
David Maghradze
Mirza Musayev
Zviadi Bobokashvili
John E Preece
author_sort Mallikarjuna Aradhya
collection DOAJ
description The distribution and survival of trees during the last glacial maximum (LGM) has been of interest to paleoecologists, biogeographers, and geneticists. Ecological niche models that associate species occurrence and abundance with climatic variables are widely used to gain ecological and evolutionary insights and to predict species distributions over space and time. The present study deals with the glacial history of walnut to address questions related to past distributions through genetic analysis and ecological modeling of the present, LGM and Last Interglacial (LIG) periods. A maximum entropy method was used to project the current walnut distribution model on to the LGM (21-18 kyr BP) and LIG (130-116 kyr BP) climatic conditions. Model tuning identified the walnut data set filtered at 10 km spatial resolution as the best for modeling the current distribution and to hindcast past (LGM and LIG) distributions of walnut. The current distribution model predicted southern Caucasus, parts of West and Central Asia extending into South Asia encompassing northern Afghanistan, Pakistan, northwestern Himalayan region, and southwestern Tibet, as the favorable climatic niche matching the modern distribution of walnut. The hindcast of distributions suggested the occurrence of walnut during LGM was somewhat limited to southern latitudes from southern Caucasus, Central and South Asian regions extending into southwestern Tibet, northeastern India, Himalayan region of Sikkim and Bhutan, and southeastern China. Both CCSM and MIROC projections overlapped, except that MIROC projected a significant presence of walnut in the Balkan Peninsula during the LGM. In contrast, genetic analysis of the current walnut distribution suggested a much narrower area in northern Pakistan and the surrounding areas of Afghanistan, northwestern India, and southern Tajikistan as a plausible hotspot of diversity where walnut may have survived glaciations. Overall, the findings suggest that walnut perhaps survived the last glaciations in several refugia across a wide geographic area between 30° and 45° North latitude. However, humans probably played a significant role in the recent history and modern distribution of walnut.
first_indexed 2024-12-11T03:40:08Z
format Article
id doaj.art-1554de7dbc5946f6818d54e77ac33012
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1932-6203
language English
last_indexed 2024-12-11T03:40:08Z
publishDate 2017-01-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
series PLoS ONE
spelling doaj.art-1554de7dbc5946f6818d54e77ac330122022-12-22T01:22:10ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032017-01-011210e018597410.1371/journal.pone.0185974Genetic and ecological insights into glacial refugia of walnut (Juglans regia L.).Mallikarjuna AradhyaDianne VelascoZakir IbrahimovBiimyrza ToktoralievDavid MaghradzeMirza MusayevZviadi BobokashviliJohn E PreeceThe distribution and survival of trees during the last glacial maximum (LGM) has been of interest to paleoecologists, biogeographers, and geneticists. Ecological niche models that associate species occurrence and abundance with climatic variables are widely used to gain ecological and evolutionary insights and to predict species distributions over space and time. The present study deals with the glacial history of walnut to address questions related to past distributions through genetic analysis and ecological modeling of the present, LGM and Last Interglacial (LIG) periods. A maximum entropy method was used to project the current walnut distribution model on to the LGM (21-18 kyr BP) and LIG (130-116 kyr BP) climatic conditions. Model tuning identified the walnut data set filtered at 10 km spatial resolution as the best for modeling the current distribution and to hindcast past (LGM and LIG) distributions of walnut. The current distribution model predicted southern Caucasus, parts of West and Central Asia extending into South Asia encompassing northern Afghanistan, Pakistan, northwestern Himalayan region, and southwestern Tibet, as the favorable climatic niche matching the modern distribution of walnut. The hindcast of distributions suggested the occurrence of walnut during LGM was somewhat limited to southern latitudes from southern Caucasus, Central and South Asian regions extending into southwestern Tibet, northeastern India, Himalayan region of Sikkim and Bhutan, and southeastern China. Both CCSM and MIROC projections overlapped, except that MIROC projected a significant presence of walnut in the Balkan Peninsula during the LGM. In contrast, genetic analysis of the current walnut distribution suggested a much narrower area in northern Pakistan and the surrounding areas of Afghanistan, northwestern India, and southern Tajikistan as a plausible hotspot of diversity where walnut may have survived glaciations. Overall, the findings suggest that walnut perhaps survived the last glaciations in several refugia across a wide geographic area between 30° and 45° North latitude. However, humans probably played a significant role in the recent history and modern distribution of walnut.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5638312?pdf=render
spellingShingle Mallikarjuna Aradhya
Dianne Velasco
Zakir Ibrahimov
Biimyrza Toktoraliev
David Maghradze
Mirza Musayev
Zviadi Bobokashvili
John E Preece
Genetic and ecological insights into glacial refugia of walnut (Juglans regia L.).
PLoS ONE
title Genetic and ecological insights into glacial refugia of walnut (Juglans regia L.).
title_full Genetic and ecological insights into glacial refugia of walnut (Juglans regia L.).
title_fullStr Genetic and ecological insights into glacial refugia of walnut (Juglans regia L.).
title_full_unstemmed Genetic and ecological insights into glacial refugia of walnut (Juglans regia L.).
title_short Genetic and ecological insights into glacial refugia of walnut (Juglans regia L.).
title_sort genetic and ecological insights into glacial refugia of walnut juglans regia l
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5638312?pdf=render
work_keys_str_mv AT mallikarjunaaradhya geneticandecologicalinsightsintoglacialrefugiaofwalnutjuglansregial
AT diannevelasco geneticandecologicalinsightsintoglacialrefugiaofwalnutjuglansregial
AT zakiribrahimov geneticandecologicalinsightsintoglacialrefugiaofwalnutjuglansregial
AT biimyrzatoktoraliev geneticandecologicalinsightsintoglacialrefugiaofwalnutjuglansregial
AT davidmaghradze geneticandecologicalinsightsintoglacialrefugiaofwalnutjuglansregial
AT mirzamusayev geneticandecologicalinsightsintoglacialrefugiaofwalnutjuglansregial
AT zviadibobokashvili geneticandecologicalinsightsintoglacialrefugiaofwalnutjuglansregial
AT johnepreece geneticandecologicalinsightsintoglacialrefugiaofwalnutjuglansregial