Conclusions
In
summary, we explored the phenotypic and genetic diversification of 20
populations of the A. viridiflora complex across its range. Our
results revealed lineage divergence in the A. viridifloracomplex, and four lineages were distinguished with a high geographic
correlation and most likely derived from divergent selection due to
heterogeneous environments and geographic isolation. In addition,
continuous gene flow between lineages existed during the lineage
divergence. By conducting multiple analyses, we identified the genetic
variables associated with environmental variables, which might influence
the evolution process. More importantly, our findings provide genomic
insights into the integration of information on gene flow, divergence
time of lineages, population effect size, and divergent selection to
identify genes potentially involved in speciation and the basis of
geographic distributions of phenotypic variations. This study may also
accelerate further taxonomic and evolutionary studies on the A.
viridiflora complex and other species in the East Asia.