Impact of pleistocene glaciations and environmental gradients on Embothrium coccineum genetic structure

The South American temperate forests have been subjected to drastic past topographic and climatic changes during the Pliocene – Pleistocene linked to Andean orogeny and glacial cycles. These changes are common drivers of genetic structure and adaptation process. Embothrium coccineum, a member of the Proteaceae family and an emblematic tree of the South American temperate forest with a distribution spanning 20° of latitude, has been strongly affected by these topographic and climatic changes. Previous studies have shown that the species presents a marked genetic structure with distinct ecotypes described; yet, little is known about their adaptive genetic responses. The main goal of this study was to investigate the effects of historical and contemporary landscape features affecting the genetic diversity and connectivity of E. coccineum throughout its natural distribution. Using more than 2000 SNPs, two genetic groups (North and Center-South) that have diverged some 2.8 million years ago were observed. The level of genetic structure was higher between populations within the North genetic group than within the Center-South group. We propose that these contrasting patterns of genetic structure are related to differences in pollinator’s assemblage and evolutionary histories between genetic groups. Moreover, we observed the existence a strong patter of isolation by environment in E. coccineum, suggesting that selection could have leaded to adaptive divergence among localities. We propose that, within the Chilean temperate forest, the patterns of genetic variation in E. coccineum reflect both a Quaternary phylogenetic imprint and the impact of selection to the strong environmental gradient.