Autosomal and mtDNA Markers Affirm the Distinctiveness of Lions in West and Central Africa.

Laura D Bertola,Klaas Vrieling,Isabela Dias-Freedman,Paula A White,Geert R De Snoo,Anthony Caragiulo,Hans H De Iongh,Philipp Henschel,Pricelia N Tumenta,Pim Van Hooft,Laura Tensen,Etotépé A Sogbohossou,Carlos A Driscoll,Tuqa H Jirmo,Michael Hofreiter

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0137975

Abstract

The evolutionary history of a species is key for understanding the taxonomy and for the design of effective management strategies for species conservation. The knowledge about the phylogenetic position of the lion (Panthera leo) in West/Central Africa is largely based on mitochondrial markers. Previous studies using mtDNA only have shown this region to hold a distinct evolutionary lineage. In addition, anthropogenic factors have led to a strong decline in West/Central African lion numbers, thus, the conservation value of these populations is particularly high. Here, we investigate whether autosomal markers are concordant with previously described phylogeographic patterns, and confirm the unique position of the West/Central African lion. Analysis of 20 microsatellites and 1,454 bp of the mitochondrial DNA in 16 lion populations representing the entire geographic range of the species found congruence in both types of markers, identifying four clusters: 1) West/Central Africa, 2) East Africa, 3) Southern Africa and 4) India. This is not in line with the current taxonomy, as defined by the IUCN, which only recognizes an African and an Asiatic subspecies. There are no indications that genetic diversity in West/Central Africa lions is lower than in either East or Southern Africa, however, given this genetic distinction and the recent declines of lion numbers in this region, we strongly recommend prioritization of conservation projects in West/Central Africa. As the current taxonomic nomenclature does not reflect the evolutionary history of the lion, we suggest that a taxonomic revision of the lion is warranted.

Highlights

Identifying and describing patterns of mitochondrial and nuclear genetic variation is a crucial component to fully understanding the evolutionary history of a species
Based on the STRUCTURE results of Dataset 1, Structure Harvester identified that the observed genetic structure is best described by four clusters representing the following geographic areas: 1) West/Central Africa, 2) East Africa, 3) Southern Africa and 4) India (Fig 2)
All Zambian individuals are partially assigned to the Southern Africa cluster, and depending on the individual, either to West/Central Africa, or to East Africa

Summary

Introduction

Identifying and describing patterns of mitochondrial (mtDNA) and nuclear genetic variation is a crucial component to fully understanding the evolutionary history of a species. High quality phylogeographic data that represent the underlying genetic complexity are important for taxonomy and contribute to designing effective conservation strategies This is of particular importance for species such as the lion (Panthera leo) that occupy large geographic ranges within which disjunct populations may not allow for natural dispersal and gene flow. Lions from the northern part of their range further showed a relatively close relationship to the Asiatic subspecies [7,8] This pattern was confirmed by phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial haplotypes only, based on which lions in West/Central Africa were described as a genetically distinct group with a relatively close genetic relationship to the Asiatic subspecies [2,3,4] (region definitions from [13,14], see Fig 1). The genetic dichotomy that separates the West/Central African lion populations from East and Southern African populations has been found in other large mammal species and is often reflected in their taxonomy including African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) [15,16], roan antelope (Hippotragus equinus) [17], hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus) [18,19], giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) [20,21] and cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) [22,23]

Methods

Results

Conclusion