Lack of phylogeography in European mammals before the last glaciation - PubMed (original) (raw)

Lack of phylogeography in European mammals before the last glaciation

Michael Hofreiter et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2004.

Abstract

In many extant animal and plant species in Europe and North America a correlation exists between the geographical location of individuals and the genetic relatedness of the mitochondrial (mt) DNA sequences that they carry. Here, we analyze mtDNA sequences from cave bears, brown bears, cave hyenas, and Neandertals in Europe before the last glacial maximum and fail to detect any phylogeographic patterns similar to those observed in extant species. We suggest that at the beginning of the last glacial maximum, little phylogeographic patterns existed in European mammals over most of their geographical ranges and that current phylogeographic patterns are transient relics of the last glaciation. Cycles of retreat of species in refugia during glacial periods followed by incomplete dispersal from one refugium into other refugia during interglacial periods is likely to be responsible for the deep genetic divergences between phylogeographic clusters of mtDNA seen today.

Copyright 2004 The National Academy of Sciencs of the USA

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Figures

Fig. 1.

Fig. 1.

Phylogeography of Pleistocene cave bears. (A) Unrooted neighbor-joining tree for 26 cave bear mtDNA haplotypes. The longest branch divides the sequences into two clades present in 94% of bootstrap replicates. (B) Map of Europe showing the geographical distribution of the two cave bear mtDNA clades (in blue and red, respectively) before the last glacial maximum. Some dots represent more than one cave.

Fig. 2.

Fig. 2.

Phylogeography of Pleistocene brown bears. (A) Unrooted neighbor-joining tree for 18 modern and 2 ancient brown bear mtDNA haplotypes from Eurasia. The longest branch divides the sequences into two clades supported in 99% of bootstrap replicates. The “western” clade (blue) occurs today in western Europe and the “eastern” clade (red) in eastern Europe, Asia, and North America. The two Pleistocene mtDNA sequences are black. (B) Map of Europe showing the geographical location of the Pleistocene brown bears. R, Ramesch; W; Winden. The current areas of overlap between the two clades in Romania and Sweden are shown in black.

Fig. 3.

Fig. 3.

Phylogeography of Pleistocene cave hyenas. (A) Unrooted neighbor-joining tree for four cave hyena mtDNA haplotypes. The longest branch divides the sequences into two clades supported in 100% of bootstrap replicates. (B) Map of Europe showing the distribution of cave hyena mtDNA clades (blue and red, respectively) before the last glacial maximum.

Fig. 4.

Fig. 4.

Neandertal mtDNA variation. (A) Unrooted neighbor-joining tree for four Neandertal mtDNA sequences. (B) Map showing the geographical provenience of the Neandertal individuals.

Fig. 5.

Fig. 5.

Schematic figure showing the possible effects of glacial cycles on phylogeographic mtDNA patterns. (A) A population that lacks phylogeographic structure is shown shortly before a glacial maximum. (B) During a glacial maximum only individuals in the refugia survive. By drift, different mtDNA types become fixed in the two refugia. (C) After the glaciation, recolonization from the refugia occurs. (D) Individuals from the two clades meet to form a “hybrid zone.” (E) Migration eventually erases the phylogeographic pattern for most of the population's range, but the higher population density slows migration into the refugia. (F) During a subsequent glacial maximum the refugia are likely to remain distinct with respect to mtDNA clades.

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