Phylogeographic analysis of Saxifraga fortunei complex (Saxifragaceae) reveals multiple origins of morphological and ecological variations in the Japanese Archipelago

[Display omitted] •The Japanese population diverged from the Eurasian population in the late Miocene.•Northern and Southern regional clades were identified in Japan.•Ecotypic taxa specialized in the various habitats belonged to the southern clade.•Phenotypic diversification occurred especially in the leading-edge populations.•Alpine and riverside ecotypic taxa appeared to have developed in parallel. Phenotypic polymorphism within a species is a notable phenomenon in evolutionary biology to understand the process of adaptive speciation and other historical events. The Saxifraga fortunei complex is a widespread herb found in East Asia. It includes several ecotypic taxa corresponding to their habitat environments. The distribution of the various ecotypes in a limited area of the Japanese Archipelago makes the species a suitable model to investigate the impact of population demographic history and natural selection on lineage diversification. Here, Sanger-based sequencing was used to estimate the divergence timeframe between populations of the Eurasian continent and Japan. Genome-wide SNPs obtained by ddRAD sequencing were used to investigate the phylogeographic origins of ecotypic taxa. The phylogenetic analyses revealed the divergence of the Japanese population from the continental population in the late Miocene. Two distinct regional clades of North and South Japan were identified; phenotypic diversification was evident only in the southern clade. The South Japan clades displayed a historical distribution expansion from north to south. The phenotypic variations appeared to have generated during the expansion. The ecotypic boundaries were incongruent with the genetic grouping. We propose that morphological and ecological specialization in Japanese populations was repeatedly generated by local natural selection.