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Clause AG, Luna-Reyes R, Mendoza-Velázquez OM, Nieto-Montes de Oca A, Solano-Zavaleta I. Bridging the gap: A new species of arboreal Abronia (Squamata: Anguidae) from the Northern Highlands of Chiapas, Mexico. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0295230. [PMID: 38170723 PMCID: PMC10763973 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0295230] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2022] [Accepted: 11/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
The mountain forests of Middle America are renowned for their endemic biodiversity, and arboreal alligator lizards (genus Abronia) are high-profile vertebrates endemic to this region. In this work, we describe a new species of arboreal Abronia that is known only from the type locality in the Northern Highlands of Chiapas, Mexico. The new species is diagnosed from all other members of the genus Abronia by the following combination of characters: lack of protuberant or spine-like supra-auricular scales, lack of protuberant or casque-like posterolateral head scales, dorsum of head pale yellow with distinct dark markings, 35-39 transverse dorsal scale rows, lateralmost row of ventral scales enlarged relative to adjacent medial row, and dorsum brown with darker crossbands that are sometimes reduced to rows of spots. We provisionally include the new species in the subgenus Lissabronia based on genomic and morphological evidence, but our results also suggest a close relationship to the subgenus Abaculabronia. The new species is geographically separated from the nearest Lissabronia and Abaculabronia species by the lowland Central Depression of Chiapas. Ongoing habitat loss and other factors imperil the new species, leading us to propose its listing under multiple threatened species frameworks. Because the Northern Highlands have poor coverage of protected areas, we briefly comment on the potential of this new species for stimulating conservation in the region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam G. Clause
- Department of Herpetology, San Diego Natural History Museum, San Diego, California, United States of America
| | - Roberto Luna-Reyes
- Dirección de Áreas Naturales y Vida Silvestre, Secretaría de Medio Ambiente e Historia Natural, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, México
| | - Oscar M. Mendoza-Velázquez
- Instituto de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Ciencias y Artes de Chiapas, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, México
| | - Adrián Nieto-Montes de Oca
- Departamento de Biología Evolutiva, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México
| | - Israel Solano-Zavaleta
- Departamento de Ecología y Recursos Naturales, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México
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Lisachov A, Tishakova K, Romanenko S, Lisachova L, Davletshina G, Prokopov D, Kratochvíl L, O Brien P, Ferguson-Smith M, Borodin P, Trifonov V. Robertsonian fusion triggers recombination suppression on sex chromosomes in Coleonyx geckos. Sci Rep 2023; 13:15502. [PMID: 37726346 PMCID: PMC10509250 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-39937-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2023] [Accepted: 08/02/2023] [Indexed: 09/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The classical hypothesis proposes that the lack of recombination on sex chromosomes arises due to selection for linkage between a sex-determining locus and sexually antagonistic loci, primarily facilitated by inversions. However, cessation of recombination on sex chromosomes could be attributed also to neutral processes, connected with other chromosome rearrangements or can reflect sex-specific recombination patterns existing already before sex chromosome differentiation. Three Coleonyx gecko species share a complex X1X1X2X2/X1X2Y system of sex chromosomes evolved via a fusion of the Y chromosome with an autosome. We analyzed synaptonemal complexes and sequenced flow-sorted sex chromosomes to investigate the effect of chromosomal rearrangement on recombination and differentiation of these sex chromosomes. The gecko sex chromosomes evolved from syntenic regions that were also co-opted also for sex chromosomes in other reptiles. We showed that in male geckos, recombination is less prevalent in the proximal regions of chromosomes and is even further drastically reduced around the centromere of the neo-Y chromosome. We highlight that pre-existing recombination patterns and Robertsonian fusions can be responsible for the cessation of recombination on sex chromosomes and that such processes can be largely neutral.
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Affiliation(s)
- Artem Lisachov
- Animal Genomics and Bioresource Research Unit (AGB Research Unit), Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, 10900, Thailand.
- Institute of Environmental and Agricultural Biology (X-BIO), University of Tyumen, Tyumen, 625003, Russia.
- Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Siberian Branch, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia.
| | - Katerina Tishakova
- Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Siberian Branch, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia
- Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia
| | - Svetlana Romanenko
- Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Siberian Branch, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia
| | - Lada Lisachova
- Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Siberian Branch, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia
- Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia
| | - Guzel Davletshina
- Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Siberian Branch, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia
- Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Siberian Branch, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia
| | - Dmitry Prokopov
- Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Siberian Branch, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia
| | - Lukáš Kratochvíl
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, 12844, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Patricia O Brien
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Cambridge Resource Centre for Comparative Genomics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB3 0ES, UK
| | - Malcolm Ferguson-Smith
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Cambridge Resource Centre for Comparative Genomics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB3 0ES, UK
| | - Pavel Borodin
- Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Siberian Branch, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia
- Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Siberian Branch, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia
| | - Vladimir Trifonov
- Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Siberian Branch, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia
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Zhao Z, Conradie W, Pietersen DW, Jordaan A, Nicolau G, Edwards S, Riekert S, Heideman N. Diversification of the African legless skinks in the subfamily Acontinae (Family Scincidae). Mol Phylogenet Evol 2023; 182:107747. [PMID: 36849095 DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2023.107747] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2022] [Revised: 02/15/2023] [Accepted: 02/22/2023] [Indexed: 02/27/2023]
Abstract
Cladogenic diversification is often explained by referring to climatic oscillations and geomorphic shifts that cause allopatric speciation. In this regard, southern Africa retains a high level of landscape heterogeneity in vegetation, geology, and rainfall patterns. The legless skink subfamily Acontinae occurs broadly across the southern African subcontinent and therefore provides an ideal model group for investigating biogeographic patterns associated with the region. A robust phylogenetic study of the Acontinae with comprehensive coverage and adequate sampling of each taxon has been lacking up until now, resulting in unresolved questions regarding the subfamily's biogeography and evolution. In this study, we used multi-locus genetic markers (three mitochondrial and two nuclear) with comprehensive taxon coverage (all currently recognized Acontinae species) and adequate sampling (multiple specimens for most taxa) of each taxon to infer a phylogeny for the subfamily. The phylogeny retrieved four well-supported clades in Acontias and supported the monophyly of Typhlosaurus. Following the General Lineage Concept (GLC), many long-standing phylogenetic enigmas within Acontias occidentalis and the A. kgalagadi, A. lineatus and A. meleagris species complexes, and within Typhlosaurus were resolved. Our species delimitation analyses suggest the existence of hidden taxa in the A. occidentalis, A. cregoi and A. meleagris species groups, but also suggest that some currently recognized species in the A. lineatus and A. meleagris species groups, and within Typhlosaurus, should be synonymised. We also possibly encountered "ghost introgression" in A. occidentalis. Our inferred species tree revealed a signal of gene flow, which implies possible cross-over in some groups. Fossil evidence calibration dating results showed that the divergence between Typhlosaurus and Acontias was likely influenced by cooling and increasing aridity along the southwest coast in the mid-Oligocene caused by the opening of the Drake Passage. Further cladogenesis observed in Typhlosaurus and Acontias was likely influenced by Miocene cooling, expansion of open habitat, uplifting of the eastern Great Escarpment (GE), and variation in rainfall patterns, together with the effect of the warm Agulhas Current since the early Miocene, the development of the cold Benguela Current since the late Miocene, and their co-effects. The biogeographic pattern of the Acontinae bears close resemblance to that of other herpetofauna (e.g., rain frogs and African vipers) in southern Africa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhongning Zhao
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa; Department of Genetics, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa.
| | - Werner Conradie
- Port Elizabeth Museum (Bayworld), P.O. Box 13147, Humewood, Port Elizabeth 6013, South Africa; Department of Nature Conservation Management, Natural Resource Science and Management Cluster, Faculty of Science, George Campus, Nelson Mandela University, George, South Africa
| | - Darren W Pietersen
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X20, Hatfield 0028, South Africa
| | - Adriaan Jordaan
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa
| | - Gary Nicolau
- Zoology & Entomology Molecular Lab, Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa
| | - Shelley Edwards
- Zoology & Entomology Molecular Lab, Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa
| | - Stephanus Riekert
- Department of Information and Communication Technology Services, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa
| | - Neil Heideman
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa
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Arntzen JW. A two-species distribution model for parapatric newts, with inferences on their history of spatial replacement. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2022. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blac134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Related species often engage in abutting or overlapping contact zones with various strengths of interspecific competition. Biotic interactions such as these preclude the registration of the full profile of environmental variables that would describe the otherwise larger species ranges. Here, I advocate to forego full range species distribution modelling and instead focus on the ecography of the contact zone, for example with ‘two-species distribution models’ (TSDMs), in which presence data are contrasted against the background of environmental data. The newts Triturus cristatus and Triturus marmoratus meet in the west of France. A countrywide TSDM suggests that the contact zone of the species is located at a climatic gradient, in line with their north-eastern vs. south-western ranges. The species are also ecologically segregated by elevation and forestation, which is in line with a documented movement of the contact zone caused by hedgerow removal in lowland areas. Hindcasts for the Holocene suggest that the species contact zone was positioned at either the same place as at present or more to the south, depending on the amount of forestation. A forecast under climate warming predicts a fast movement to the north, but this scenario is deemed unrealistic. One reason is that recent habitat loss compromises dispersal and range expansion. Other species pairs to which TSDMs have been applied are listed for comparison.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan W Arntzen
- Institute of Biology, Leiden University, Sylvius Laboratory , Sylviusweg 72, 2333 BE Leiden , The Netherlands
- Naturalis Biodiversity Center , Darwinweg 2, 2333 CR Leiden , The Netherlands
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