Karyological and genetic variation in Middle Eastern lacertid lizards, Lacerta laevis and the Lacerta kulzeri complex: a case of chromosomal allopatric speciation (original) (raw)

Chromosome research : an international journal on the molecular, supramolecular and evolutionary aspects of chromosome biology, 2003

Abstract

Karyological (standard and C, Ag-NOR and Alu-I banding methods) and mtDNA analyses (cytochrome b and 12S rRNA) were conducted on specimens from eight allopatric populations of the Lacerta kulzeri complex. Parallel analyses were performed for comparison on Lacerta laevis specimens. Karyological and molecular studies support the morphological and ethological evidence indicating the specific separation between Lacerta laevis and Lacerta kulzeri. In the Lacerta kulzeri complex, chromosomal analysis substantiated an interpopulation differentiation roughly along a north-south trend, mainly regarding the sex chromosome morphology and heterochromatin. The cytochrome b and 12S rRNA gene analyses showed minor genetic differences that were considerably smaller than those commonly found in genetically isolated populations. The L. kulzeri populations from Barouk, Druze and Hermon show a mean genetic distance that, in other saurians, characterises subspecies. The conditions found in L. laevis and...

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