A test of genetic divergence of a bird existing in the Sichuan Basin and its surrounding mountain ranges

Island ecosystems,serving as natural laboratories,facilitate geographical isolation,ecological specialization,and species divergence.The Sichuan Basin,surrounded by mountain ranges,represents a typical continental island due to its marked environmental spatial heterogeneity.This heterogeneity may contribute to geographical isolation and habitat heterogeneity,resulting in genetic divergence within populations.Therefore,we used the White-browed Laughingthrush(Garrulax sannio)as a model specimen to investigate the genetic divergence in the Sichuan Basin and its surrounding mountain ranges,given its presence in various habitats within and beyond this basin.Employing a RAD-seq dataset of 140 G.sannio individuals from 17 distinct ecological zones in the Sichuan Basin and its surrounding mountain ranges,we conducted PCA,population structure analysis,phylogenetic tree construction,and gene flow analysis to comprehensively analyze G.sannio groups.Additionally,in conjunction with geographical and ecological data,we performed isolation by distance,isolation by environment,PCA,and latent factor mixed model analysis to identify factors influencing the genetic divergence among these G.sannio groups.In summary,the 17 G.sannio groups were categorized into high-elevation,medium-elevation,and lowelevation groups.Genetic divergence in G.sannio may be attributed to both geographical distance and key ecological factors,particularly elevation and key climatic variables.Notably,the high-elevation group exhibited a greater number of SNPs and selected genes associated with the key ecological factors compared to the lowelevation group.The ADCY9 gene and several associated key pathways were identified as crucial elements driving ecological adaptation(elevation and key climatic variables)in the high-elevation group.Furthermore,climate changes during the glacial cycles may have facilitated gene flow among these groups residing in the Sichuan Basin and its surrounding mountain ranges.Our findings provide evidence of genetic divergence in G.sannio influenced by the geographical distance and key ecological factors between the Sichuan Basin and its surrounding mountain ranges.These results lay the groundwork for future research on the molecular systematics of continental islands.

Seasonal variation of foliar δ^(13)C values and its indictor significance in Sabina przewalskii and Sabina chinensis

Seasonal variation of foliar δ13C values as well as proline, silicon, MDA and relative water content in Sabina przewalskii Kom. and S. chinensis （Lin.） Ant. were measured. The results show that foliar δ13C values were significantly different at different seasons： lower in winter but higher in summer. δ13C values were positively correlated with air temperature and soil temperature. This demonstrates that foliar δ13C of Sabina is a successful empirical indictor of temperature. Furthermore, foliar δ13C values were positively related to proline and silicon content, and negatively related to relative water content and MDA content. Compared with S. chinensis, S. przewalskii has higher δ13C values, proline and silicon content as well as lower MDA and relative water content. All these results provided strong evidence that it is feasible for δ13C to be regarded as another index to evaluate freezing tolerance of Sabina.