Speciation of Actaea purpurea

We investigate the evolutionary history of Actaea purpurea and its closest relatives, A. japonica and A. biternata. We aim to estimate important parameters of the divergence event, and to lay the foundation for further investigation of the speciation mechanism of this system. Floral and vegetative traits were measured and analyzed. Genetic structure, divergence history and historical gene flow were also inferred from the plastid and the SNP data. Floral traits were divergent, and a strong match between pollinator and floral traits was revealed. Genetically the two species were also well diverged, and the time of divergence was dated to the Pleistocene. The demographic modelling results suggest that A. purpurea had continuous limited gene flow with A. japonica and A. biternate since divergence.