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The colonization history of the Mediterranean dwarf palm (Chamaerops humilis L., Palmae)

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Abstract

Chamaerops humilis L. (Mediterranean dwarf palm) is an important floristic element of the western Mediterranean region because it is the only palm species naturally distributed in both Europe and Africa. The combination of a time-calibrated phylogeny, a haplotype network and genetic diversity analyses based on plastid sequences, together with previous nuclear DNA fingerprint results, helped reconstruct the colonization history of the dwarf palm. Based on a sample of 218 individuals taken from 29 geographical areas that cover the current distribution of Chamaerops, we detected four plastid DNA (petA-psbJ) haplotypes distributed in two haplotype groups (lineage 1: haplotypes A/B; lineage 2: haplotypes C/D). Haplotypes A, B, and C showed a widespread geographical distribution in both Africa and Europe, whereas haplotype D was restricted to two African localities. Paleobotanical data, species distribution modeling and divergence time estimates suggest that Chamaerops diverged from Trachycarpus in the Miocene (27.05–6.05 Ma), followed by a split of the two C. humilis lineages that remained isolated during the Miocene-Pliocene. Divergence estimates also support a derived split into two haplotypes (A/B) in the Pleistocene, when the Mediterranean Sea barrier was in existence. This, together with geographical distribution of haplotypes A and B, strongly suggests that the disjunct distribution of C. humilis haplotypes in Europe and Africa is the result of long-distance dispersal (LDD) events rather than vicariance. In agreement with recurrent gene flow (events of LDD colonization), AMOVA revealed that most of the genetic variance was found among populations (61.52%). Irrespective of predominant plant translocations by humans or seed dispersal by natural means, our results support that current populations are the result of relatively recent contacts between Africa and Europe in the Quaternary.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank to four anonymous reviewers and W. Baker for suggestions that improved the quality of the manuscript, to J. Mayol for information about historical uses of dwarf palm in Baleares; to M. Ahmim, M. d’Amico, G. Calvo, J. Calzada, M. Clavero, C. Delibes, M. Jácome, A. Longo, I. Mateos, M. Navarro, E. Pérez de Gracia, E. Real, Riserva Naturale Orientata dello Zingaro, O. Rodríguez, A. Segura, J. Serrano, A. Vázquez, P. Vázquez, and Servicio de Protección de Especies de las Islas Baleares for field assistance and collection of plant material; and to E. Cano for lab assistance. This research was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (CGL2010-21926), the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (CGL2015-67865-P), a FCT Portuguese grant (IF/00728/2013) to JMF, and a Juan de la Cierva fellowship to BG.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Real Jardín Botánico, CSIC, Plaza de Murillo 2, 28014, Madrid, Spain

    Beatriz Guzmán & Pablo Vargas

  2. Estación Biológica de Doñana, CSIC, Avenida Américo Vespucio s/n, 41092, Sevilla, Spain

    José M. Fedriani & Miguel Delibes

  3. Centro de Ecologia Aplicada Prof. Baeta Neves/InBIO, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, 1349-017, Lisbon, Portugal

    José M. Fedriani

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  1. Beatriz Guzmán
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Correspondence to Beatriz Guzmán.

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Data Archiving Statement

We have submitted the petA-psbJ sequences to Genbank. See supplementary Table S2 for accession numbers.

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Communicated by Z. Kaya

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Guzmán, B., Fedriani, J.M., Delibes, M. et al. The colonization history of the Mediterranean dwarf palm (Chamaerops humilis L., Palmae). Tree Genetics & Genomes 13, 24 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11295-017-1108-1

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