Abstract
BackgroundThe distribution of the wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) extends from Mexico to southeastern Canada and to the eastern and southern regions of the USA. Six subspecies have been described based on morphological characteristics and/or geographical variations in wild and domesticated populations. In this paper, based on DNA sequence data from the mitochondrial D-loop, we investigated the genetic diversity and structure, genealogical relationships, divergence time and demographic history of M. gallopavo populations including domesticated individuals.ResultsAnalyses of 612 wild and domesticated turkey mitochondrial D-loop sequences, including 187 that were collected for this study and 425 from databases, revealed 64 haplotypes with few mutations, some of which are shared between domesticated and wild turkeys. We found a high level of haplotype and nucleotide diversity, which suggests that the total population of this species is large and stable with an old evolutionary history. The results of genetic differentiation, haplotype network, and genealogical relationships analyses revealed three main genetic groups within the species: mexicana as a population relict (C1), merriami (C2), and mexicana/intermedia/silvestris/osceola (C3). Haplotypes detected in domesticated turkeys belong to group C3. Estimates of divergence times agree with range expansion and diversification events of the relict population of M. gallopavo in northwestern Mexico during the Pliocene–Pleistocene and Pleistocene–Holocene boundaries. Demographic reconstruction showed that an expansion of the population occurred 110,000 to 130,000 years ago (Kya), followed by a stable period 100 Kya and finally a decline ~ 10 Kya (Pleistocene–Holocene boundary). In Mexico, the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt may be responsible for the range expansion of the C3 group. Two haplotypes with different divergence times, MGMDgoB/MICH1 and MICH2, are dominant in domesticated and commercial turkeys.ConclusionsDuring the Pleistocene, a large and stable population of M. gallopavo covered a wide geographic distribution from the north to the center of America (USA and Mexico). The mexicana, merriami, and mexicana/intermedia/silvestris/osceola genetic groups originated after divergence and range expansion from northwestern Mexico during the Pliocene–Pleistocene and Pleistocene–Holocene boundaries. Old and new maternal lines of the mexicana/intermedia/silvestris/osceola genetic group were distributed within the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt where individuals were captured for domestication. Two haplotypes are the main founder maternal lines of domesticated turkeys.
Highlights
The distribution of the wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) extends from Mexico to southeastern Canada and to the eastern and southern regions of the USA
Genetic diversity and differentiation From the DNA samples of M. gallopavo collected for this study, we obtained 187 sequences (556 to 672 bp long) of the mtDNA D-loop that were registered in GenBank (Accession numbers: MF161996 to MF162182)
95 domesticated individuals from Michoacan, eight from Puebla, all those from Guatemala, one from the commercial line Bronze, all M. g. intermedia individuals, and one M. g. mexicana individual, which was originally designated as carrying the MGMDgoB haplotype, shared the MICH1 haplotype
Summary
The distribution of the wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) extends from Mexico to southeastern Canada and to the eastern and southern regions of the USA. Six subspecies have been described based on morphological characteristics and/or geographical variations in wild and domesticated populations. Meleagris gallopavo is an original neartic species with a distribution that extends from Mexico to southeastern. Six subspecies of M. gallopavo have been described based on their geographical distribution and morphological characteristics such as size, coloration or iridescence of plumage, color of the legs, and color of the tip and base of the feathers, i.e. Meleagris gallopavo is the one and only important domesticated animal species of North American origin [6]. Molecular studies based on mtDNA have suggested that the domesticated turkey is representative of the extinct wild subspecies M. g. Leopold [6] and Nelson [10] proposed that domestication occurred in the highlands of Michoacan, Mexico, and according to Schorger [3] domesticated turkey stocks were established by at least ca. 200 BC to 700 AD within the Tehuacan Valley (Puebla), with bones dated from approximately 700 AD being identified in Guatemala
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