Population Expanding with the Phalanx Model and Lineages Split by Environmental Heterogeneity: A Case Study of Primula obconica in Subtropical China

Abstract

Our results are the first to identify a west-east migration of P. obconica. The gradual expansion pattern and a larger potential distribution range in cold periods detected for P. obconica indicate that the population expansion of this species is consistent with the phalanx model. In addition, the current patterns of genetic differentiation have persisted as a result of the extensive environmental heterogeneity that exists in subtropical China.