Clarification of the Limonium confusum apomictic complex: three evolutionary units rather than four taxa!
Le complex Limonium confusum, bringing together several protected species on the Mediterranean coast, This is a real headache when it comes to conservation. Morphological criteria alone are not enough to distinguish its members, which complicates the protection of endangered habitats.
This complex consists of :
- Limonium confusum,
- Limonium cuspidatum,
- Limonium densissimum,
- Limonium legrandii.
The distributions of these four taxa overlap and their boundaries remain unclear.
In this article published in Conservation genetics, the authors, Cyllène Chatellier, Christine Tollon, Alex Baumel, James Molina and Bouchaib Khadari, have sampled all known populations of the four taxa in order to delimit the areas of interest. Significant Evolutionary Units (ESU). They analysed the genotypes of 305 specimens from 30 populations using 12 nuclear microsatellite markers. This study identified 23 multilocus genotypes grouped into three distinct groups, challenging current taxonomy.
The analyses show that there is no genetic mixing within or between these clusters, even in sympatry. This lack of gene flow can be explained by the apomictic reproduction of the species concerned. Each genetic cluster constitutes a single lineage (ESU), with specific geographical and ecological patterns.
These results highlight the importance of phylogeography to structure the conservation of apomictic species groups and preserve their evolutionary heritage.
