The phylogeographical structure of the temperate shrub Rosa pendulina at 45 locations in Europe was studied using sequencing of a non-coding cpDNA region (trnL-trnF). Our study revealed a clear geographic structure of cpDNA haplotypes. Three main haplotypes were geographically widespread, but showed little overlap in their distributions, suggesting that postglacial expansion occurred from at least two distinct glacial refugia, probably located (1) at the edge of the Alps, N Apennines or Dinaric Alps, and (2) in the Balkan Peninsula or S Carpathians. All populations at locations in the Czech Republic and surrounding regions are of Carpathian origin. This finding disproved an Alpine origin of R. pendulina populations in the Šumava Mts (Czech Republic). A contact zone between Carpathian and Alpine migration routes of R. pendulina is probably located in the Danube valley.
Tomicus piniperda is a pest in pine stands in Eurasia and is also found in the USA, where it has caused a decline in the abundance of pine since 1992. Knowledge of the genetic structure of pine shoot beetle populations is important for understanding their phylogeographic history and for quarantine control. In this study, European, Asian and American T. piniperda populations were analyzed by sequencing a region of the mitochondrial COI gene. Twenty-five haplotypes (HT) were detected and over 70% of these HT were found in individual areas, e.g. 5 HT in China, 5 HT in France and 3 HT in Spain. Nested clade analysis revealed that most European and the American population was in a clade containing 9 HT connected by one to two mutational steps. A second clade contained HT from France (2 HT), Spain (2 HT), Sweden (1 HT), Russia (1 HT) and China (5 HT). In this clade, one to 13 mutational steps and 13 missing or theoretical HT were detected. The third clade had 5 HT from France, Russia, Poland, Finland and Switzerland; 1 to 7 mutational steps and 5 missing or theoretical HT were detected. Although only a few significant relationships were found in the nested clade analysis, the following conclusions can be drawn: (1) T. piniperda is a polymorphic species with numerous HT throughout Europe, and HT are likely to exist regarding the missing or theoretical HT; (2) It is likely there were refugial areas in Southern Europe and Western Russia; (3) The Pyrenees formed a barrier to migration after the last ice age; (4) Chinese and European populations have been separated for at least 0.6 MYA.