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Burgon JD, Vences M, Steinfartz S, Bogaerts S, Bonato L, Donaire-Barroso D, Martínez-Solano I, Velo-Antón G, Vieites DR, Mable BK, Elmer KR. Phylogenomic inference of species and subspecies diversity in the Palearctic salamander genus Salamandra. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2020; 157:107063. [PMID: 33387650 DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2020.107063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2020] [Revised: 12/18/2020] [Accepted: 12/24/2020] [Indexed: 02/09/2023]
Abstract
The salamander genus Salamandra is widespread across Europe, North Africa, and the Near East and is renowned for its conspicuous and polymorphic colouration and diversity of reproductive modes. The phylogenetic relationships within the genus, and especially in the highly polymorphic species S. salamandra, have been very challenging to elucidate, leaving its real evolutionary history and classification at species and subspecies levels a topic of debate and contention. However, the distribution of diversity and species delimitation within the genus are critically important for identifying evolutionarily significant units for conservation and management, especially in light of threats posed by the pathogenic chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans that is causing massive declines of S. salamandra populations in central Europe. Here, we conducted a phylogenomic analysis from across the taxonomic and geographic breadth of the genus Salamandra in its entire range. Bayesian, maximum likelihood and network-based phylogenetic analyses of up to 4905 ddRADseq-loci (294,300 nucleotides of sequence) supported the distinctiveness of all currently recognised species (Salamandra algira, S. atra, S. corsica, S. infraimmaculata, S. lanzai, and S. salamandra), and all five species for which we have multiple exemplars were confirmed as monophyletic. Within S. salamandra, two main clades can be distinguished: one clade with the Apenninic subspecies S. s. gigliolii nested within the Iberian S. s. bernardezi/fastuosa; and a second clade comprising all other Iberian, Central and East European subspecies. Our analyses revealed that some of the currently recognized subspecies of S. salamandra are paraphyletic and may require taxonomic revision, with the Central- and Eastern-European subspecies all being poorly differentiated at the analysed genomic markers. Salamandra s. longirostris - sometimes considered a separate species - was nested within S. salamandra, consistent with its subspecies status. The relationships identified within and between Salamandra species provide valuable context for future systematic and biogeographic studies, and help elucidate critical evolutionary units for conservation and taxonomy.
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Affiliation(s)
- James D Burgon
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health & Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
| | - Miguel Vences
- Division of Evolutionary Biology, Zoological Institute, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Mendelssohnstr. 4, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany.
| | - Sebastian Steinfartz
- Institute of Biology, University of Leipzig, Talstrasse 33, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | | | - Lucio Bonato
- Department of Biology, University of Padova, Via Bassi 58B, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - David Donaire-Barroso
- Asociación Herpetológica Fretum Gaditanum, Calle Mar Egeo 7, 11407 Jerez de la Frontera, Spain
| | - Iñigo Martínez-Solano
- Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), C./ José Gutiérrez Abascal n°2, 28006 Madrid, Spain
| | - Guillermo Velo-Antón
- CIBIO/InBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos da Universidade do Porto, Instituto de Ciências Agrárias de Vairão, R. Padre Armando Quintas n° 7, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal; Grupo de Ecoloxía Animal (GEA), Universidade de Vigo, 36310 Vigo, Spain
| | - David R Vieites
- Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), C./ José Gutiérrez Abascal n°2, 28006 Madrid, Spain
| | - Barbara K Mable
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health & Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
| | - Kathryn R Elmer
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health & Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
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