Loreta Freitas on Magnificent wild petunias: their evolutionary history and genetic diversity
Abstract. The genus Petunia encompasses 15 wild species, all of them distributed in South America. This genus has recently evolved and diversified, and the corolla tube length supports the two phylogenetic main groups. Each group in Petunia had different evolutionary history and ecological drivers for diversification. The species in the long corolla tube clade diversified under the influence of pollinator interaction, inhabit low land grasslands with one exception, and, when occurring in sympatry, can intercross producing fertile and viable hybrids that may form stable populations. The species in the short corolla tube are all bee-pollinated, can be found in grasslands from the sea level to more than 1000 m in elevation, evolved under past climate shifts' influence, and no hybrids were yet formally described between them, even when they grow in sympatry. Here, some results on genus evolution and diversification, emphasizing reproductive biology, interspecific hybridization, ecological interactions, historical demography, and population structure and diversity, will be presented.
Watch this talk here: https://youtu.be/46yiRjroT5k
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