Evolutionary history of the greater white-toothed shrew (Crocidura russula) inferred from analysis of mtDNA, Y, and X chromosome markers

Handley, Lori Jayne Lawson; Brandli, L; Handley, LJL; Vogel, P; Perrin, N; Lawson Handley, Lori; Brändli, Laura; Handley, Lori-Jayne Lawson; Vogel, Peter; Perrin, Nicolas

Abstract

We investigate the evolutionary history of the greater white-toothed shrew across its distribution in northern Africa and mainland Europe using sex-specific (mtDNA and Y chromosome) and biparental (X chromosome) markers. All three loci confirm a large divergence between eastern (Tunisia and Sardinia) and western (Morocco and mainland Europe) lineages, and application of a molecular clock to mtDNA divergence estimates indicates a more ancient separation (2.25 Myr ago) than described by some previous studies, supporting claims for taxonomic revision. Moroccan ancestry for the mainland European population is inconclusive from phylogenetic trees, but is supported by greater nucleotide diversity and a more ancient population expansion in Morocco than in Europe. Signatures of rapid population expansion in mtDNA, combined with low X and Y chromosome diversity, suggest a single colonization of mainland Europe by a small number of Moroccan shrews >38 Kyr ago. This study illustrates that multilocus genetic analyses can facilitate the interpretation of species' evolutionary history but that phylogeographic inference using X and Y chromosomes is restricted by low levels of observed polymorphism.

Citation

Brändli, L., Handley, L.-J. L., Vogel, P., & Perrin, N. (2005). Evolutionary history of the greater white-toothed shrew (Crocidura russula) inferred from analysis of mtDNA, Y, and X chromosome markers. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 37(3), 832-844. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2005.06.019

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 22, 2005
• Online Publication Date: Aug 10, 2005
• Publication Date: 2005-12
• Journal: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution
• Print ISSN: 1055-7903
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 37
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 832-844
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2005.06.019
• Keywords: Sex-specific loci; Y-chromosome; X-chromosome; mtDNA; Gibraltar Strait; Colonization; Expansion; Phylogeography; Bayesian analysis
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/409634
• Publisher URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6WNH-4GV9SFJ-2/2/6732e68aae433fd4cc5c8064a7c287a1