Phylogeography and population structure of the golden monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana): inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequences

Abstract

The golden monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana) is one of the most endangered primate species due to its dramatically shrinking distribution during the past 400 years. Its populations are restricted to three isolated regions, Qinglin (QL), Sichuan/Gansu (SG), and Shennongjia (SNJ) in China. As with other snub-nosed monkeys in China and Vietnam, the biology and evolution of this species is still poorly known. To assess genetic differentiation and explore the relationships among populations of golden monkeys from different geographic locations, 379 bp of mitochondrial DNA control region (CR) hypervariable segment I (HVI) was studied from 60 individuals. Twelve haplotypes were identified from seven populations within the three regions. Haplotype diversity was high (0.845), whereas nucleotide diversity among all haplotypes was low (0.0331). The most recent common ancestor (TMRCA) among mtDNA haplotypes was estimated to have lived approximately 0.48-0.32 million years ago. None of the haplotypes is shared among any of the three regions. Phylogenetic analysis and AMOVA revealed clear and significant phylogeographic structure between the three regions. However, only SG contained haplotypes of the two main clades, indicating either incomplete random sorting of haplotypes or a complex history with phases of population subdivisions and merging of populations. The phylogeographic structure implies that R. roxellana should be regarded as separate management units (MUs) for each of the three regions. It is likely that recent phylogeographic history has shaped the pattern of genetic differentiation observed in the golden monkey and that its populations have suffered significant demographic fluctuation.