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Context

Fir species are mainly distributed across the high latitudes, preferring cold climates. The phylogeographic origins of those subtropical fir species that occur in low latitudes in southern China remain elusive, as does the nature of any inter-lineage hybridization.

Aims

In fir species, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is mater- nally inherited and chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) is paternally inherited, and the genetic variations in the two make them particularly useful for examining species’ hybridizations and evolutionary histories.

Materials

and methods We sequenced four DNA frag- ments: two of mtDNA and two of cpDNA for 161 individuals from four subtropical endangered fir species (Abies beshan- zuensis, Abies ziyuanensis, Abies yuanbaoshanensis, and Abies fanjingshanensis) and two more northerly distributed ones (Abies recurvata and Abies fargesii) from central and southwest China.

Results

Three mitotypes and four chlorotypes were recov- ered from the four southern species. In most populations, individuals share a single fixed mitotype and chlorotype. Three mitotypes clustered into two distinct clades, each associated with one of the northern species examined. For four chlorotypes, one occurred in A. ziyuanensis, A. beshan- zuensis, A. fargesii, and A. recurvata, another in A. ziyua- nensis and A. recurvata, the remaining two differed from others by two mutations exclusively in A. fanjingshanenis and A. yuanbaoshanensis.

Conclusion

Phylogeographic origins of the subtropical fir species are complex, and genetic admixtures occurred dur- ing the evolutionary history of A. ziyuanensis. The geno- typed populations further provide basic frames for genetic delimitation and effective conservation of these endangered species in the future.