Phylogeography of Eomecon chionantha in subtropical China: the dual roles of the Nanling Mountains as a glacial refugium and a dispersal corridor

Abstract

Our results suggest that the Nanling Mountains may acted dual roles as a dispersal corridor in east-west direction and as a glacial refugium in subtropical China during the late Quaternary. The population connectivity mediated by the mountain range and a strong postglacial range expansion are the most likely reasons for the lack of phylogeographic structure in E. chionantha. The hypothesis of dual roles of the mountain range presented here sheds new insights into the phylogeographic patterns of organisms in subtropical China.