Consistent geographic structure among multiple nuclear sequences and cpDNA polymorphisms of Cardamine nipponica Franch. et Savat. (Brassicaceae)

Molecular phylogeography has inferred the history of differentiation between regions and/or among populations following the Pleistocene climatic oscillations, mostly based on the genetic structure of organelle DNA. However, such genetic structure only reflects the history of a single gene, and studies based on single-copy genes of nuclear DNA (nDNA) are required for phylogeography, although their efficiency remains unclear. To examine the utility of nDNA loci, the genetic structures of three genes from Cardamine nipponica, which is closely related to the model species Arabidopsis thaliana, were elucidated: the nDNA genes DET1, PHYA, PHYE, as well as chloroplast DNA (cpDNA). In 279 individuals collected from throughout the range of the species, strong genetic differentiation between northern and central Japan was found for all loci. This result suggested that populations in central Japan experienced a different history from those in northern Japan during the Pleistocene climatic oscillations. In addition, the evidence of refugia at the edges of the distribution, where the genetic structure was less influenced by colonization following range expansion, was shown for several loci. The specific genetic structure within the southernmost populations of northern Japan suggested that this region was also isolated during range expansion. Hence, the consistent history among loci and a more detailed history from several loci indicated that cpDNA can represent the history of vicariance and demonstrated the efficiency of single-copy nuclear genes in phylogeography.