Neutral and adaptive genetic diversity in Neltuma alba (Leguminosae), an emblematic species of the Dry Chaco Forest
Dry forests, characterized by seasonal rainfall, are exposed to prolonged drought periods and high temperatures throughout the year, with the consequent restricted water availability. Organisms occurring in these environments must develop strategies to cope with drought stress; thus, local adaptatio...
| Autores principales: | , , , , , |
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| Formato: | info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
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Oxford University Press
2025
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/23460 https://academic.oup.com/forestry/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/forestry/cpaf046/8230126?redirectedFrom=fulltext&login=true https://doi.org/10.1093/forestry/cpaf046 |
| _version_ | 1855038759686373376 |
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| author | González, María Laura Cosacov, Andrea Lopez Lauenstein, Diego Vega, Carmen Delcira Teich, Ingrid Bessega, Cecilia |
| author_browse | Bessega, Cecilia Cosacov, Andrea González, María Laura Lopez Lauenstein, Diego Teich, Ingrid Vega, Carmen Delcira |
| author_facet | González, María Laura Cosacov, Andrea Lopez Lauenstein, Diego Vega, Carmen Delcira Teich, Ingrid Bessega, Cecilia |
| author_sort | González, María Laura |
| collection | INTA Digital |
| description | Dry forests, characterized by seasonal rainfall, are exposed to prolonged drought periods and high temperatures throughout the year, with the consequent restricted water availability. Organisms occurring in these environments must develop strategies to cope with drought stress; thus, local adaptations likely play a crucial role in these biomes. In South America, the largest contiguous xerophytic forests are found in the Chaco ecoregion, where Neltuma species (previously classified within Prosopis) play significant ecological and economic roles. However, no previous studies have assessed neutral and adaptive genetic variation across the distribution range of these species. This study evaluated the genetic patterns of geographically distant Neltuma alba populations, by comparing putative neutral simple sequence repeats (SSRs) with putative adaptive expressed sequence tags (EST-SSRs) derived from transcriptome sequencing, and their relationship with climatic factors. Our results revealed moderate genetic diversity and low genetic differentiation among populations. Notably, genetic structure varied with the type of marker, indicating different underlying evolutionary processes between them. The most important climatic gradient in the study area, defined by the east–west variation in precipitation and diurnal temperature range, could result in selective pressures on N. alba. This gradient might shape the genetic structure retrieved by the EST-SSRs and might be associated with leaf morphological patterns previously studied. The genetic diversity pattern of putative neutral markers was associated with geographic distances among populations but not with the climatic gradient. Our findings indicate that N. alba genetic diversity is influenced by two main factors: isolation by distance, whereby nearby populations tend to share more genetic diversity, and local adaptation, which arises from different selective pressures linked to the climatic gradient. Our results are discussed concerning their potential contribution to the management and conservation of this emblematic species of South American dry forests, which are facing landscape transformation and global climate change. |
| format | info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo |
| id | INTA23460 |
| institution | Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA -Argentina) |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Oxford University Press |
| publisherStr | Oxford University Press |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | INTA234602025-08-19T10:01:13Z Neutral and adaptive genetic diversity in Neltuma alba (Leguminosae), an emblematic species of the Dry Chaco Forest González, María Laura Cosacov, Andrea Lopez Lauenstein, Diego Vega, Carmen Delcira Teich, Ingrid Bessega, Cecilia Genetic Structures Microsatellites Spatial Variations Estructura Genética Microsatélites Prosopis Variación Espacial Arid Gradient Local Adaptation Región Chaco Arido Dry forests, characterized by seasonal rainfall, are exposed to prolonged drought periods and high temperatures throughout the year, with the consequent restricted water availability. Organisms occurring in these environments must develop strategies to cope with drought stress; thus, local adaptations likely play a crucial role in these biomes. In South America, the largest contiguous xerophytic forests are found in the Chaco ecoregion, where Neltuma species (previously classified within Prosopis) play significant ecological and economic roles. However, no previous studies have assessed neutral and adaptive genetic variation across the distribution range of these species. This study evaluated the genetic patterns of geographically distant Neltuma alba populations, by comparing putative neutral simple sequence repeats (SSRs) with putative adaptive expressed sequence tags (EST-SSRs) derived from transcriptome sequencing, and their relationship with climatic factors. Our results revealed moderate genetic diversity and low genetic differentiation among populations. Notably, genetic structure varied with the type of marker, indicating different underlying evolutionary processes between them. The most important climatic gradient in the study area, defined by the east–west variation in precipitation and diurnal temperature range, could result in selective pressures on N. alba. This gradient might shape the genetic structure retrieved by the EST-SSRs and might be associated with leaf morphological patterns previously studied. The genetic diversity pattern of putative neutral markers was associated with geographic distances among populations but not with the climatic gradient. Our findings indicate that N. alba genetic diversity is influenced by two main factors: isolation by distance, whereby nearby populations tend to share more genetic diversity, and local adaptation, which arises from different selective pressures linked to the climatic gradient. Our results are discussed concerning their potential contribution to the management and conservation of this emblematic species of South American dry forests, which are facing landscape transformation and global climate change. Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos Vegetales Fil: González, María Laura. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (IMBIV); Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (IMBIV); Argentina Fil: Cosacov, Andrea. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (IMBIV); Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (IMBIV); Argentina Fil: Lopez Lauenstein, Diego. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos Vegetales; Argentina Fil: Lopez Lauenstein, Diego. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Unidad de Estudios Agropecuarios (UDEA); Argentina Fil: Vega, Carmen Delcira. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos Vegetales; Argentina Fil: Vega, Carmen Delcira. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Unidad de Estudios Agropecuarios (UDEA); Argentina Fil: Teich, Ingrid. University of Bern. Centre for Development and Environment (CDE); Suiza Fil: Bessega, Cecilia. Universidad Nacional de Buenos Aries. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento Ecología, Genética y Evolución (EGE); Argentina Fil: Bessega, Cecilia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución (IEGEBA); Argentina 2025-08-19T09:52:02Z 2025-08-19T09:52:02Z 2025-08-11 info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/23460 https://academic.oup.com/forestry/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/forestry/cpaf046/8230126?redirectedFrom=fulltext&login=true 0015-752X 1464-3626 https://doi.org/10.1093/forestry/cpaf046 eng info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) application/pdf Oxford University Press Forestry: An International Journal of Forest Research : cpaf046 (2025) |
| spellingShingle | Genetic Structures Microsatellites Spatial Variations Estructura Genética Microsatélites Prosopis Variación Espacial Arid Gradient Local Adaptation Región Chaco Arido González, María Laura Cosacov, Andrea Lopez Lauenstein, Diego Vega, Carmen Delcira Teich, Ingrid Bessega, Cecilia Neutral and adaptive genetic diversity in Neltuma alba (Leguminosae), an emblematic species of the Dry Chaco Forest |
| title | Neutral and adaptive genetic diversity in Neltuma alba (Leguminosae), an emblematic species of the Dry Chaco Forest |
| title_full | Neutral and adaptive genetic diversity in Neltuma alba (Leguminosae), an emblematic species of the Dry Chaco Forest |
| title_fullStr | Neutral and adaptive genetic diversity in Neltuma alba (Leguminosae), an emblematic species of the Dry Chaco Forest |
| title_full_unstemmed | Neutral and adaptive genetic diversity in Neltuma alba (Leguminosae), an emblematic species of the Dry Chaco Forest |
| title_short | Neutral and adaptive genetic diversity in Neltuma alba (Leguminosae), an emblematic species of the Dry Chaco Forest |
| title_sort | neutral and adaptive genetic diversity in neltuma alba leguminosae an emblematic species of the dry chaco forest |
| topic | Genetic Structures Microsatellites Spatial Variations Estructura Genética Microsatélites Prosopis Variación Espacial Arid Gradient Local Adaptation Región Chaco Arido |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/23460 https://academic.oup.com/forestry/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/forestry/cpaf046/8230126?redirectedFrom=fulltext&login=true https://doi.org/10.1093/forestry/cpaf046 |
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