title: Leaf morphological and genetic divergence in  populations of Drimys (Winteraceae) in Chile.
abstract: The genus Drimys is distributed in Chile from  semi-arid zones to sub-Antarctic forests; there are three species of this tree, D. andina, D. confertifolia and D. winteri, the latter  with varieties chilensis and winteri. Northern populations are  found in small disjunct natural refuges, specifically mountain cloud forests  and the bottom of ravines. The size and continuity of populations are greater  in the south, where wetter conditions prevail. Morphological differences  between populations have been observed, particularly between the northern  populations of Fray Jorge and Talinay. This observation, led to the following  questions: a) what is the level of morphological and genetic divergence among  the populations of Drimys in Chile? and b) do the populations from Fray  Jorge/Talinay, currently classified as D. winteri var. chilensis,  differ genetically from the other populations of this variety? To answer these  questions, we collected leaf samples from 37 populations of all Chilean Drimys,  performed leaf morphology analysis and estimated genetic divergence using RAPD  markers. We found a high degree of leaf morphological and genetic divergence  between the populations of Fray Jorge/Talinay and the other Chilean species of Drimys.  The morphological and genetic divergence among varieties of D. winteri was  greater than that among the species of Drimys, which may indicate  problems with their taxonomic classification.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile. pjarancio@gmail.com
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jara-Arancio
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Carmona
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Correa
authors.forename: F A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Squeo
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Arancio
mesh_terms: D002677:Chile; D032424:Drimys / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*; D040961:Genetic Drift; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005828:Genetics, Population; D010802:Phylogeny; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D019105:Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Technique