1
|
Andrea C. As fast as a hare: did intraspecific morphological change bring the Hallands Väderö Island population of Lepus timidus close to interspecific differences in less than 150 years? ZOOLOGY 2022; 152:126014. [DOI: 10.1016/j.zool.2022.126014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2021] [Revised: 04/15/2022] [Accepted: 04/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
|
2
|
Satta V, Mereu P, Barbato M, Pirastru M, Bassu G, Manca L, Naitana S, Leoni GG. Genetic characterization and implications for conservation of the last autochthonous Mouflon population in Europe. Sci Rep 2021; 11:14729. [PMID: 34282202 PMCID: PMC8289818 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-94134-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2020] [Accepted: 06/30/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Population genetic studies provide accurate information on population structure, connectivity, and hybridization. These are key elements to identify units for conservation and define wildlife management strategies aimed to maintain and restore biodiversity. The Mediterranean island of Sardinia hosts one of the last autochthonous mouflon populations, descending from the wild Neolithic ancestor. The first mouflon arrived in Sardinia ~ 7000 years ago and thrived across the island until the twentieth century, when anthropogenic factors led to population fragmentation. We analysed the three main allopatric Sardinian mouflon sub-populations, namely: the native sub-populations of Montes Forest and Mount Tonneri, and the reintroduced sub-population of Mount Lerno. We investigated the spatial genetic structure of the Sardinian mouflon based on the parallel analysis of 14 highly polymorphic microsatellite loci and mitochondrial D-loop sequences. The Montes Forest sub-population was found to harbour the ancestral haplotype in the phylogeny of European mouflon. We detected high levels of relatedness in all the sub-populations and a mitochondrial signature of hybridization between the Mount Lerno sub-population and domestic sheep. Our findings provide useful insights to protect such an invaluable genetic heritage from the risk of genetic depletion by promoting controlled inter-population exchange and drawing informed repopulation plans sourcing from genetically pure mouflon stocks.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Satta
- grid.11450.310000 0001 2097 9138Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sassari, Via Vienna 2, 07100 Sassari, Italy
| | - Paolo Mereu
- grid.11450.310000 0001 2097 9138Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, Viale San Pietro 43b, 07100 Sassari, Italy
| | - Mario Barbato
- grid.8142.f0000 0001 0941 3192Department of Animal Science, Food and Technology–DIANA, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Piacenza, Italy
| | - Monica Pirastru
- grid.11450.310000 0001 2097 9138Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, Viale San Pietro 43b, 07100 Sassari, Italy
| | | | - Laura Manca
- grid.11450.310000 0001 2097 9138Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, Viale San Pietro 43b, 07100 Sassari, Italy
| | - Salvatore Naitana
- grid.11450.310000 0001 2097 9138Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sassari, Via Vienna 2, 07100 Sassari, Italy
| | - Giovanni Giuseppe Leoni
- grid.11450.310000 0001 2097 9138Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sassari, Via Vienna 2, 07100 Sassari, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Tolesa Z, Bekele E, Tesfaye K, Ben Slimen H, Valqui J, Getahun A, Hartl GB, Suchentrunk F. Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA reveals reticulate evolution in hares (Lepus spp., Lagomorpha, Mammalia) from Ethiopia. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0180137. [PMID: 28767659 PMCID: PMC5540492 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0180137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2017] [Accepted: 06/10/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
For hares (Lepus spp., Leporidae, Lagomorpha, Mammalia) from Ethiopia no conclusive molecular phylogenetic data are available. To provide a first molecular phylogenetic model for the Abyssinian Hare (Lepus habessinicus), the Ethiopian Hare (L. fagani), and the Ethiopian Highland Hare (L. starcki) and their evolutionary relationships to hares from Africa, Eurasia, and North America, we phylogenetically analysed mitochondrial ATPase subunit 6 (ATP6; n = 153 / 416bp) and nuclear transferrin (TF; n = 155 / 434bp) sequences of phenotypically determined individuals. For the hares from Ethiopia, genotype composition at twelve microsatellite loci (n = 107) was used to explore both interspecific gene pool separation and levels of current hybridization, as has been observed in some other Lepus species. For phylogenetic analyses ATP6 and TF sequences of Lepus species from South and North Africa (L. capensis, L. saxatilis), the Anatolian peninsula and Europe (L. europaeus, L. timidus) were also produced and additional TF sequences of 18 Lepus species retrieved from GenBank were included as well. Median joining networks, neighbour joining, maximum likelihood analyses, as well as Bayesian inference resulted in similar models of evolution of the three species from Ethiopia for the ATP6 and TF sequences, respectively. The Ethiopian species are, however, not monophyletic, with signatures of contemporary uni- and bidirectional mitochondrial introgression and/ or shared ancestral polymorphism. Lepus habessinicus carries mtDNA distinct from South African L. capensis and North African L. capensis sensu lato; that finding is not in line with earlier suggestions of its conspecificity with L. capensis. Lepus starcki has mtDNA distinct from L. capensis and L. europaeus, which is not in line with earlier suggestions to include it either in L. capensis or L. europaeus. Lepus fagani shares mitochondrial haplotypes with the other two species from Ethiopia, despite its distinct phenotypic and microsatellite differences; moreover, it is not represented by a species-specific mitochondrial haplogroup, suggesting considerable mitochondrial capture by the other species from Ethiopia or species from other parts of Africa. Both mitochondrial and nuclear sequences indicate close phylogenetic relationships among all three Lepus species from Ethiopia, with L. fagani being surprisingly tightly connected to L. habessinicus. TF sequences suggest close evolutionary relationships between the three Ethiopian species and Cape hares from South and North Africa; they further suggest that hares from Ethiopia hold a position ancestral to many Eurasian and North American species.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zelalem Tolesa
- Department of Biology, Hawassa University, Hawassa, Ethiopia
- Zoologisches Institut, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany
- Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Endashaw Bekele
- Department of Microbial, Cellular, and Molecular Biology, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | - Kassahun Tesfaye
- Department of Microbial, Cellular, and Molecular Biology, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
- Centre of Biotechnology, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | - Hichem Ben Slimen
- Institut Supérieur de Biotechnologie de Béja, Avenue Habib Bourguiba, Béja, Tunisia
| | - Juan Valqui
- Zoologisches Institut, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Abebe Getahun
- Department of Zoological Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | - Günther B. Hartl
- Zoologisches Institut, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Franz Suchentrunk
- Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Sex identification in four leporid species (Lepus corsicanus, Lepus europaeus, Lepus timidus and Lepus capensis mediterraneus). CONSERV GENET RESOUR 2015. [DOI: 10.1007/s12686-015-0460-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
|
5
|
Mengoni C, Mucci N, Randi E. Genetic diversity and no evidences of recent hybridization in the endemic Italian hare (Lepus corsicanus). CONSERV GENET 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s10592-014-0674-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
|
6
|
Canu A, Scandura M, Luchetti S, Cossu A, Iacolina L, Bazzanti M, Apollonio M. Influence of management regime and population history on genetic diversity and population structure of brown hares (Lepus europaeus) in an Italian province. EUR J WILDLIFE RES 2013. [DOI: 10.1007/s10344-013-0731-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
|