Populations residing near species' low‐latitude range margins (LLMs) often occur in warmer and drier environments than those in the core range. Thus, their genetic composition could be shaped by climatic drivers that differ from those occurring at higher latitudes, resulting in potentially adaptive variants of conservation value. Such variants could facilitate the adaptation of populations from other portions of the geographical range to similar future conditions anticipated under ongoing climate change. However, very few studies have assessed standing genetic variation at potentially adaptive loci in natural LLM populations. We investigated standing genetic variation at single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located within 117 candidate genes and its links to putative climatic selection pressures across 19 pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.) populations distributed along a regional climatic gradient near the species' southern range margin in southeastern Europe. These populations are restricted to floodplain forests along large lowland rivers, whose hydric regime is undergoing significant shifts under modern rapid climate change. The populations showed very weak geographical structure, suggesting extensive genetic connectivity and gene flow or shared ancestry. We identified eight (6.2%) positive F_ST‐outlier loci, and genotype–environment association analyses revealed consistent associations between SNP allele frequencies and several climatic variables linked to water availability. A total of 61 associations involving 37 SNPs (28.5%) from 35 annotated genes provided important insights into putative functional mechanisms in our system. Our findings provide empirical support for the role of LLM populations as sources of potentially adaptive variation that could enhance species’ resilience to climate change‐related pressures.

中文翻译：

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有花梗橡木（Quercus robur L.）泛滥平原种群在该物种南缘附近的候选基因SNP变异：弱分化但与水的有效利用有明显的联系。

居住在物种低纬度范围边缘（LLM）附近的种群通常发生在比核心范围更温暖，更干燥的环境中。因此，它们的遗传组成可能受到与高纬度地区不同的气候驱动因素的影响，从而导致潜在的适应性保护价值变异。这样的变体可以促进人口从地理范围的其他部分适应当前气候变化下预期的类似未来条件。但是，很少有研究评估天然LLM种群中潜在适应位点的遗传遗传变异。我们调查了位于117个候选基因内的单核苷酸多态性（SNP）的常规遗传变异及其与19个有花梗橡木的假定气候选择压力的联系（东南非洲栎类种群沿着该物种南部范围边缘附近的区域气候梯度分布。这些人口被限制在大型低地河流沿岸的洪泛区森林中，在现代快速气候变化下，其水力状况正在发生重大变化。种群显示非常弱的地理结构，表明广泛的遗传连通性和基因流动或共有血统。我们确定了8个（6.2％）阳性F _ST离群基因座和基因型与环境的关联分析表明，SNP等位基因频率与几个与水利用量相关的气候变量之间存在一致的关联。共有来自35个带注释基因的61个关联，涉及37个SNP（28.5％），为我们系统中的假定功能机制提供了重要见解。我们的发现为LLM种群作为潜在的适应性变化的来源提供了经验支持，这些变化可能增强物种对气候变化相关压力的适应力。