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Nested clade analysis of geographic structure in the morphologically variable Themeda triandra in South Africa

The use of phylogeography in plant systems has been on the increase in recent years with the use of chloroplast DNA to detect sufficient intraspecific variation to reach significant conclusions about plant species histories, both temporally and spatially. In this study, the geographic structure and...

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Main Author: Oatley, Graeme
Other Authors: Bond, William J
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Department of Biological Sciences 2017
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access_status_str Open Access
author Oatley, Graeme
author2 Bond, William J
author_browse Bond, William J
Oatley, Graeme
author_facet Bond, William J
Oatley, Graeme
author_sort Oatley, Graeme
collection Thesis
description The use of phylogeography in plant systems has been on the increase in recent years with the use of chloroplast DNA to detect sufficient intraspecific variation to reach significant conclusions about plant species histories, both temporally and spatially. In this study, the geographic structure and possible origin of the morphologically variable Themeda triandra is explored. The trnF - trnC and psbD - trnS gene regions of the cpDNA were used to find 12 haplotypes found in 11 populations of T. triandra that encompass the species large distributional range. A haplotype tree was constructed that showed the relationship of the 11 haplotypes (haplotype_H12 was excluded as it fell outside of the 95% confidence limit), with haplotype H6 inferred to be the ancestral haplotype. A nested clade analysis was performed with the results used to infer the geographic structure of T. triandra within South Africa. Significant results showed that there was restricted gene flow with nested clades involving the three Free State populations, indicating that there are barriers to gene flow with other haplotypes. The ancestral haplotype showed long distance colonisation, with a probable root of this colonisation being the Kruger National Park. This is the proposed point of introduction of T. triandra into South Africa, with results from this study supporting this proposal. A substantial amount of gene flow (25.49%; AMOV A) between populations is observed, with this probably being due to the widespread distribution of haplotypes H6 and H10. It is thought that T. triandra followed two migration routes within South Africa: one along the coast, with the other inland above the escarpment where populations became genetically isolated from populations below the escarpment. Further studies may look for a correlation between morphological variants of T. triandra and the cpDNA haplotypes found within the species.
format Thesis
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institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language eng
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:32:00.945Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2017
publishDateRange 2017
publishDateSort 2017
publisher Department of Biological Sciences
publisherStr Department of Biological Sciences
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source_str UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/26314 Nested clade analysis of geographic structure in the morphologically variable Themeda triandra in South Africa Oatley, Graeme Bond, William J Hedderson, Terry A Botany Plant Ecology Phylogeography The use of phylogeography in plant systems has been on the increase in recent years with the use of chloroplast DNA to detect sufficient intraspecific variation to reach significant conclusions about plant species histories, both temporally and spatially. In this study, the geographic structure and possible origin of the morphologically variable Themeda triandra is explored. The trnF - trnC and psbD - trnS gene regions of the cpDNA were used to find 12 haplotypes found in 11 populations of T. triandra that encompass the species large distributional range. A haplotype tree was constructed that showed the relationship of the 11 haplotypes (haplotype_H12 was excluded as it fell outside of the 95% confidence limit), with haplotype H6 inferred to be the ancestral haplotype. A nested clade analysis was performed with the results used to infer the geographic structure of T. triandra within South Africa. Significant results showed that there was restricted gene flow with nested clades involving the three Free State populations, indicating that there are barriers to gene flow with other haplotypes. The ancestral haplotype showed long distance colonisation, with a probable root of this colonisation being the Kruger National Park. This is the proposed point of introduction of T. triandra into South Africa, with results from this study supporting this proposal. A substantial amount of gene flow (25.49%; AMOV A) between populations is observed, with this probably being due to the widespread distribution of haplotypes H6 and H10. It is thought that T. triandra followed two migration routes within South Africa: one along the coast, with the other inland above the escarpment where populations became genetically isolated from populations below the escarpment. Further studies may look for a correlation between morphological variants of T. triandra and the cpDNA haplotypes found within the species. 2017-11-16T07:25:13Z 2017-11-16T07:25:13Z 2004 2017-07-26T15:05:01Z Bachelor Thesis Honours BSc (Hons) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/26314 eng application/pdf Department of Biological Sciences Faculty of Science University of Cape Town
spellingShingle Botany
Plant Ecology
Phylogeography
Oatley, Graeme
Nested clade analysis of geographic structure in the morphologically variable Themeda triandra in South Africa
thesis_degree_str Bachelor's / Honours
title Nested clade analysis of geographic structure in the morphologically variable Themeda triandra in South Africa
title_full Nested clade analysis of geographic structure in the morphologically variable Themeda triandra in South Africa
title_fullStr Nested clade analysis of geographic structure in the morphologically variable Themeda triandra in South Africa
title_full_unstemmed Nested clade analysis of geographic structure in the morphologically variable Themeda triandra in South Africa
title_short Nested clade analysis of geographic structure in the morphologically variable Themeda triandra in South Africa
title_sort nested clade analysis of geographic structure in the morphologically variable themeda triandra in south africa
topic Botany
Plant Ecology
Phylogeography
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/26314
work_keys_str_mv AT oatleygraeme nestedcladeanalysisofgeographicstructureinthemorphologicallyvariablethemedatriandrainsouthafrica