Genetic Variation Patterns and Adaptive Divergence of Three Taxus Species in the Qinling Mountains and Surrounding Areas

Understanding patterns of genetic variation and adaptive potential to future climate change is crucial for developing effective conservation and management strategies. The Taxus represents ancient "living fossil" plants with significant medicinal, timber, and ornamental value. The Qinling Mountains and surrounding areas harbor three yew species: T. chinensis, T. mairei, and T. qinlingensis. However, Previous studies have been limited by sample sizes and singular identification methods, resulting in taxonomic uncertainties that hinder investigations into their genetic variation patterns and underlying mechanisms. This study integrates reduced-representation genome sequencing (dd-RAD-seq), DNA barcoding, leaf phenotypic traits, and ecological data with population genetics, landscape genetics, and ecological approaches to systematically analyze taxonomic status, genetic variation, demographic history, adaptive divergence, and genomic vulnerability of these three Taxusspecies.