A Coalescent Approach to Chloroplast Genome Relationships Within and Between Populations of Pinus Devoniana in Mexico

Pinus devoniana, a member of the Pinus montezumae complex (Ponderosae) of Mexico and Central America occurs as scattered populations from the western states of Jalisco and Nayarit to Chiapas in the east. Populations within regions, i.e., western or eastern Mexico, are separated by from 75 to 300 km, while the eastern and western populations are more that 700 km apart. Levels of gene flow between populations within regions and between eastern and western Mexico are assessed using the paternally inherited chloroplast genome as a marker. Twenty-five polymorphic restriction chloroplast sites were found in the 175 individuals surveyed; eight restriction sites define the regional identity of population. The chloroplast phylogeny and relationships within and between populations and regions are discussed in the context of the coalescent