Mitogenome Phylogeny Including Data from Additional Subspecies Provides New Insights into the Historical Biogeography of the Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx.

Deniz Mengüllüoğlu,Johanna L. A. Paijmans,Axel Barlow,Heribert Hofer,Ali Onur Sayar,Hüseyin Ambarlı,Jörns Fickel,Daniel W. Förster,İrfan Kandemir,Hasan Emir

doi:10.3390/genes12081216

Abstract

Previous molecular studies of the wide-ranging Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx focused mainly on its northern Palearctic populations, with the consequence that the reconstruction of this species’ evolutionary history did not include genetic variation present in its southern Palearctic distribution. We sampled a previously not considered Asian subspecies (L. l. dinniki), added published data from another Asian subspecies (L. l. isabellinus), and reassessed the Eurasian lynx mtDNA phylogeny along with previously published data from northern Palearctic populations. Our mitogenome-based analyses revealed the existence of three major clades (A: Central Asia, B: SE Europe/SW Asia, C: Europe and Northern Asia) and at least five lineages, with diversification in Lynx lynx commencing at least 28kyr earlier than hitherto estimated. The subspecies L. l. isabellinus harbors the most basal matriline, consistent with the origin of Lynx lynx in this subspecies’ current range. L. l. dinniki harbors the second most basal matriline, which is related to, and may be the source of, the mtDNA diversity of the critically endangered Balkan lynx L. l. balcanicus. Our results suggest that the Anatolian peninsula was a glacial refugium for Eurasian lynx, with previously unconsidered implications for the colonization of Europe by this species.

Highlights

The spatial distribution of terrestrial mammals is determined by the availability of suitable habitat, which has been shaped by historical climatic events and subsequently been modified by anthropogenic land use and land cover change [1]
The Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx has the widest distribution in the Palearctic. It inhabits a great variety of biomes with different climatic conditions and displays intraspecific variation in ecological requirements, morphology, and behavior [5], which is signified by six recognized subspecies [17]
As previous molecular studies on L. lynx focused mainly on European and Northern Asian populations [16,18,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29], most information on the species’ phylogeography and evolutionary history derives from these northern Palearctic populations

Summary

Introduction

The spatial distribution of terrestrial mammals is determined by the availability of suitable habitat, which has been shaped by historical climatic events and subsequently been modified by anthropogenic land use and land cover change [1]. In order to obtain a more complete understanding of the evolutionary history of such wide-ranging species, data from small, isolated populations, including those at range margins, must be considered in phylogeographic studies (southern Chinese tiger: [8]; Himalayan wolf: [9]; Himalayan brown bear: [10]) Such small or edge populations may harbor important components of a species’ total genetic diversity (clouded leopard: [11,12]; leopard cat [13]; Java sambar: [14]), if refugial populations of former glacial periods have not substantially increased their range (brown bear in the Caucasus: [15]; brown bear in the Himalayas: [10]; Eurasian lynx in the Caucasus: [16]). Such high genetic diversity was confirmed in L. lynx populations living in Anatolia [35,36,37] and in the greater Caucasus [16], which renders these populations very important for elucidating the diversity and evolutionary history of Eurasian lynx

Methods

Results

Conclusion