Nunataks or massif de refuge? A phylogeographic study of Rhodiola crenulata (Crassulaceae) on the world’s highest sky islands

BACKGROUND: Quaternary climatic oscillations had tremendous effects on the current distribution of species. Here, we aim to elucidate the glacial history of Rhodiola crenulata, a perennial herb almost exclusively restricted to rock crevices on mountain peaks, and to test whether the nunatak or massif de refuge hypotheses could explain its distribution pattern. RESULTS: Six haplotypes and six ribotypes were detected in the cpDNA data set and the ITS data set, respectively. The divergence of R. crenulata and its closest relatives was dated have occurred ca. 0.65 Mya, during the Naynayxungla glaciation on the QTP. Mismatch distribution analysis suggested that the species experienced a range expansion around 0.31 Mya. Populations with high genetic and haplotype diversity were found on the QTP platform as well in the Hengduan Mountains. The ecological niche modeling results showed that there were suitable habitats on both the QTP platform and in the Hengduan Mountains during the LGM. CONCLUSION: Our results support a scenario that both nunataks and the massif de refuge hypotheses could explain the distribution of R. crenulata. We also confirmed that Quaternary climatic oscillations could promote plant speciation in some circumstances. This study adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting that the QTP plant lineages exhibited diverse reactions to the Quaternary climatic oscillations. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12862-018-1270-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.