Cladogenesis of the European brown hare (Lepus europaeus Pallas, 1778) |
| |
Authors: | Joerns Fickel Heidi C Hauffe Elena Pecchioli Ramon Soriguer Ljiljana Vapa Christian Pitra |
| |
Institution: | 1. Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Leibniz-Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315, Berlin, Germany 2. Centro di Ecologia Alpina, 38040, Viote del Monte, Bondone, Italy 3. Especies Cinegeticas y Plaga, Estacion Biologica de Dona?a C.S.I.C., Apartado 1056, 41013, Seville, Spain 4. Department of Genetics, Trg Dositeja Obradovica 2, 21000, Novi Sad, Serbia
|
| |
Abstract: | A substantial portion of today’s biodiversity is attributed to the climatic oscillations of the Pleistocene Ice Ages. Gradual
but dramatic climate changes were accompanied by expansion, contraction, and isolation of populations, promoting the accumulation
of genome differences and adaptations in refugial populations and resulting in allopatric differentiation in a variety of
taxa. In the present study, partial mitochondrial DNA sequences of the widely distributed European brown hare (Lepus europaeus) were analyzed to test whether the species’ present genetic structure is the result of postglacial re-colonization of Europe
from Asia Minor (clade A) and the Balkans (clade B) only, as suggested previously, or if additional refugia are likely. Analyses indicated the presence of an additional refugium
(Italy, clade I). The genealogic network of Italian hares displayed the tree-like structure expected from refugial populations, whereas central
European brown hare haplotypes revealed a clear star-phylogeny indicative of past-bottleneck population growth. This population
size expansion, which was confirmed by mismatch analysis, was estimated to have occurred ∼50–55 thousand years ago (kya).
The divergence of clade A* from the remaining matrilines is estimated at 239 kya, whereas the divergence of the ancestors of clades B* and I from A* occurred about 128 kya.
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. |
| |
Keywords: | Biogeography Mitochondrial DNA Glacial refugia |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|