Mitogenomics reveals extremely low genetic diversity in the endangered Jilin clawed salamander: Implications for its conservation.

Abstract

The Jilin clawed salamander (Onychodactylus zhangyapingi) is an endemic, endangered, and level-two protected amphibian species of China. In the context of serious threats to amphibians worldwide, conservation studies of this endangered species are urgently needed. In this study, mitogenomic conservation genetics and species distribution modeling analyses were performed for O. zhangyapingi. Sixty-three samples were collected from nine different locations, and the complete mitochondrial genome was sequenced. Population genetic analyses revealed that O. zhangyapingi exhibits only one genetic structure with extremely low nucleotide diversity. Late Pleistocene climate cooling may have led to a reduction in effective population size and extremely low mitogenomic nucleotide diversity in this salamander, and the subsequent temperature increase (~20 kya to present) provided the opportunity for rapid population growth. The continuous highly suitable region for O. zhangyapingi is only approximately 3000 km2 on the southeastern boundary of Jilin Province, China. Fortunately, there are three large forested national nature reserves within the distribution of O. zhangyapingi that can effectively protect endangered species. Our findings suggest that O. zhangyapingi is a vulnerable species with a narrow distribution and extremely low genetic diversity, and we should pay more attention to the conservation management of this species.