Phylogeography and landscape genetics of Picris populations in East Asia

This project aims at revealing the population genetic history of an Asteraceae heabaceous species of Picris hiercioides in Japan and adjacent regions. Particularly, we focus on the biogeography of the disjunctly distributed serpentine populations in Hokkaido Island, Japan, to test the alternative demographic scenarios of single-origin or parallel evolution of serpentine ecotypes. Population genetic analysis based on ddRAD sequencing will be performed.