title: The phylogeny of the European high mountain genus Adenostyles (Asteraceae-Senecioneae) reveals that edaphic shifts coincide with dispersal events.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Heterogeneity of edaphic conditions plays a large role in driving the diversification of many plant groups. In the Alps and other European high mountains, many closely related calcicole and calcifuge plant taxa exist. To better understand patterns and processes of edaphic differentiation, the phylogeny of the edaphically variable genus Adenostyles was studied. The genus contains three species, of which A. alpina has five subspecies. Each species and subspecies is largely confined to either calcareous or noncalcareous substrates. •
  
  
  METHODS
  We analyzed the phylogeny of Adenostyles using DNA sequences of nrITS, nrETS, nuclear chalcone synthase, and three plastid markers (rpl32-trnL, psbA-trnH, and ndhF-rpl32) from 45 in-group and five out-group samples. The phylogeny was used to reconstruct ancestral edaphic associations and distribution areas. •
  
  
  RESULTS
  Within Adenostyles alpina, the shifts of edaphic association from calcicole to calcifuge in subsp. briquetii (Corsica) and in a clade of subsp. macrocephala (southernmost Italy) plus subsp. pyrenaica (Pyrenees) coincide with dispersal events. •
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We conclude that colonization of areas with novel edaphic conditions via dispersal can trigger shifts of edaphic association. Accordingly, edaphic niche shifts can result from chance events.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Spezielle Botanik, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Bentzelweg 9a, 55099 Mainz, Germany. dillenbe@uni-mainz.de
authors.forename: Markus S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Dillenberger
authors.forename: Joachim W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Kadereit
mesh_terms: D000531:Altitude; D019659:Asteraceae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D005075:Biological Evolution; D003710:Demography; D017753:Ecosystem; D005060:Europe; D010802:Phylogeny; D058974:Phylogeography; D012987:Soil
chemical_list: D012987:Soil
keywords: ancestral reconstruction; calcicole; calcifuge; edaphic niche; environmental islands