Long-term isolation of European steppe outposts boosts the biome's conservation value

We use genomic (RADSeq) data to assess genetic structure for a set of distantly related plant and animal taxa sampled across the steppe biome. We show that the evolutionary history of Eurasian steppe biota is more complex than traditionally thought. The biota of European steppe outposts were long-term isolated from the Asian steppes, and European steppes emerged as disproportionally conservation relevant, harbouring private genetic lineages, large genetic diversity, and a mosaic of stable refugia.