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<p>Ferns represent a critical component of arid and semi-arid ecosystems, yet their genomic adaptation mechanisms in harsh environments remain poorly understood. This study explores the genetic diversity and functional variation among seven fern species collected from the Fifa Mountains, Jazan region of southwestern Saudi Arabia, an ecologically transitional region shaped by intense aridity and high temperatures. Using a targeted SNP discovery approach based on high-coverage coding sequences, we identified 8,768 high-confidence polymorphisms and characterized their distribution, functional annotation, and evolutionary implications. Phylogenetic reconstruction based on SNP sequences supported traditional genus-level relationships, while core and unique SNP analyses revealed lineage-specific diversification. Gene Ontology enrichment analyses identified stress response, metabolic, and energy-related pathways as major functional targets, with Cheilanthes species showing the highest enrichment in stress-response terms. These findings provide genomic insights into how ferns persist under extreme conditions, highlighting coding-region polymorphisms related to stress and metabolic regulation, and establish a baseline for future conservation genetics studies in arid Arabian Peninsula ecosystems.</p>

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Molecular Adaptation and Genetic Diversity of Ferns from Fifa Mountains (Jazan, Saudi Arabia): Insights from Coding-SNPs

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年2月27日

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  • Fatmah Ahmed Safhi,
  • Salha Mesfer Alshamrani

摘要

Ferns represent a critical component of arid and semi-arid ecosystems, yet their genomic adaptation mechanisms in harsh environments remain poorly understood. This study explores the genetic diversity and functional variation among seven fern species collected from the Fifa Mountains, Jazan region of southwestern Saudi Arabia, an ecologically transitional region shaped by intense aridity and high temperatures. Using a targeted SNP discovery approach based on high-coverage coding sequences, we identified 8,768 high-confidence polymorphisms and characterized their distribution, functional annotation, and evolutionary implications. Phylogenetic reconstruction based on SNP sequences supported traditional genus-level relationships, while core and unique SNP analyses revealed lineage-specific diversification. Gene Ontology enrichment analyses identified stress response, metabolic, and energy-related pathways as major functional targets, with Cheilanthes species showing the highest enrichment in stress-response terms. These findings provide genomic insights into how ferns persist under extreme conditions, highlighting coding-region polymorphisms related to stress and metabolic regulation, and establish a baseline for future conservation genetics studies in arid Arabian Peninsula ecosystems.