Species delimitation in the Stenocereus griseus (Cactaceae) species complex reveals a new species, S. huastecorum

PLoS One. 2018 Jan 17;13(1):e0190385. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0190385. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

The Stenocereus griseus species complex (SGSC) has long been considered taxonomically challenging because the number of taxa belonging to the complex and their geographical boundaries remain poorly understood. Bayesian clustering and genetic distance-based methods were used based on nine microsatellite loci in 377 individuals of three main putative species of the complex. The resulting genetic clusters were assessed for ecological niche divergence and areolar morphology, particularly spination patterns. We based our species boundaries on concordance between genetic, ecological, and morphological data, and were able to resolve four species, three of them corresponding to S. pruinosus from central Mexico, S. laevigatus from southern Mexico, and S. griseus from northern South America. A fourth species, previously considered to be S. griseus and commonly misidentified as S. pruinosus in northern Mexico showed significant genetic, ecological, and morphological differentiation suggesting that it should be considered a new species, S. huastecorum, which we describe here. We show that population genetic analyses, ecological niche modeling, and morphological studies are complementary approaches for delimiting species in taxonomically challenging plant groups such as the SGSC.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Bayes Theorem
  • Cactaceae / classification*
  • Cactaceae / genetics
  • Genes, Plant
  • Models, Theoretical
  • Species Specificity

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT), which funded the Research project CB-2013-01-221800 and provided a grant (298299) for Hernán Alvarado-Sizzo (URL: http://www.conacyt.gob.mx/) and the Program of Support to Research and Technological Innovation (PAPIIT), UNAM, Mexico (research projects IN209214 and IN206217). http://dgapa.unam.mx/index.php/impulso-a-la-investigacion/papiit. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.