Sharovikj Ivanova Angela, Schönswetter Peter, Kostadinovski Mitko, Barfuss Michael H J, Ćušterevska Renata, Frajman Božo
Institute of Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University Skopje, Skopje, North Macedonia.
Department of Botany, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
Front Plant Sci. 2025 Apr 14;16:1558466. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1558466. eCollection 2025.
The Eurasian steppes are the second-largest continuous biome on Earth. , a member of the alliance, is a widespread species in the macroclimatically defined zonal Pontic steppes and westerly and southerly adjacent extrazonal steppe outposts determined by local climatic, topographic, and edaphic conditions. In the extrazonal steppes, in particular within the Anatolian, Danubian, Thracian, and Pannonian grasslands, it is more or less continuously distributed, but with several disjunct occurrences in the central Balkan Peninsula, which is renowned for its high biodiversity. Several (infra)specific taxa have been recognised within s.l., but relationships among them remain elusive. We applied an integrative approach ranging from cytogenetics (relative genome size and ploidy estimation, chromosome counting) and morphometrics to phylogenetics (internal ribosomal transcribed spacer sequencing and amplified length polymorphism fingerprinting), with geographic focus on the central and eastern Balkan Peninsula. We inferred multiple polyploidisations within the group and complex phylogenetic patterns. We uncovered cryptic lineages in the central Balkan Peninsula, where the description of two new species, diploid , and tetraploid was necessary. In addition, we revealed high diversity, partly related to polyploidisations, among the populations from the eastern Balkan and Pontic steppes, likely pertaining to different species. Finally, the main phylogeographic split within is between (1) Pannonian, central and eastern Balkan populations, and (2) the easternmost Balkan, Pontic, and Anatolian populations. Our results thus highlight the outstanding conservation value of the extrazonal European steppes that are not just an outpost of zonal Eurasian steppes. We also point to the remarkable biodiversity of the central and eastern Balkan Peninsula and the need for further in-depth studies of this biodiversity hotspot.
欧亚草原是地球上第二大连续生物群落。作为该联盟的一员，它是一种广泛分布的物种，存在于宏观气候定义的地带性黑海草原以及由当地气候、地形和土壤条件决定的西部和南部相邻的非地带性草原前哨地区。在非地带性草原中，特别是在安纳托利亚、多瑙河、色雷斯和潘诺尼亚草原内，它或多或少连续分布，但在以高生物多样性而闻名的巴尔干半岛中部有几处间断分布。在广义的该物种范围内已识别出几个（亚）特定分类群，但它们之间的关系仍然难以捉摸。我们采用了一种综合方法，从细胞遗传学（相对基因组大小和倍性估计、染色体计数）和形态计量学到系统发育学（内部核糖体转录间隔区测序和扩增片段长度多态性指纹分析），地理重点放在巴尔干半岛中部和东部。我们推断该类群内存在多次多倍体化以及复杂的系统发育模式。我们在巴尔干半岛中部发现了隐存谱系，在那里有必要描述两个新物种，二倍体的[物种名称1]和四倍体的[物种名称2]。此外，我们揭示了巴尔干半岛东部和黑海草原种群之间的高度多样性，部分与多倍体化有关，可能属于不同物种。最后，该物种内主要的系统地理分化存在于（1）潘诺尼亚、巴尔干半岛中部和东部的种群，以及（2）巴尔干半岛最东部、黑海和安纳托利亚的种群之间。因此，我们的结果突出了非地带性欧洲草原的突出保护价值，它们不仅仅是地带性欧亚草原的一个前哨。我们还指出了巴尔干半岛中部和东部显著的生物多样性以及对这个生物多样性热点进行进一步深入研究的必要性。
