Two maternal lineages of bank vole (Myodes glareolus), the Eastern and the Carpathian, that had originated from different glacial refugia, came to a secondary contact in north-east Poland. We analysed a fragment of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) [cytochrome b (cyt b), 424 bp] from 1038 samples of the species to map the contact zone, estimate the mtDNA diversity of bank vole populations, and analyse if the distribution of the two lineages correlates with environmental variables. We found 89 haplotypes of mtDNA: 36 in the Carpathian lineage, 51 in the Eastern lineage and additionally 2 belonging in the Western lineage. The contact zone between lineages varied in width from 45 to 243 km. Nucleotide diversity and haplotype diversity of cyt b were notably higher in the Carpathian lineage than in the Eastern lineage. There was evidence of demographic and spatial expansion in the Eastern lineage. The spatial distribution of bank vole haplotypes belonging to the Carpathian lineage was positively correlated with the number of plant species associated with the Carpathian refugium and the mean temperature of July. The opposite (negative correlations with these two variables) was found for the Eastern lineage. These factors can be related to the different environmental conditions in which the two lineages survived and which affected the current mtDNA diversity.
The wild boar Sus scrofa is one of the widely spread ungulate species in Europe, yet the origin and genetic structure of the population inhabiting Central and Eastern Europe are not well recognized. We analysed 101 newly obtained sequences of complete mtDNA genomes and 548 D-loop sequences of the species and combined them with previously published data. We identified five phylogenetic clades in Europe with clear phylogeographic pattern. Two of them occurred mainly in western and central part of the continent, while the range of the third clade covered North-Eastern, Central and South-Eastern Europe. The two other clades had rather restricted distribution. In Central Europe, we identified a contact zone of three mtDNA clades. Population genetic structure reflected clear phylogeographic pattern of wild boar in this part of Europe. The contribution of lineages originating from the southern (Dinaric-Balkan) and eastern (northern cost of the Black Sea) areas to the observed phylogeographic pattern of the species in Central and Eastern Europe was larger than those from the regions located in southern France, Iberian, and Italian Peninsulas. The present work was the first mitogenomic analysis conducted in Central and Eastern Europe to study genetic diversity and structure of wild boar population.
Present-day species distribution and patterns of genetic diversity in Europe are a result of post-glacial re-colonization from glacial refugia after the Last Glacial Maximum. This process led to the formation of secondary contact zones (suture zones) between the haplogroups of different species, and were induced by several factors, including climate and evolutionary processes like selection and adaptation. One such suture zone has been found in Poland, where a complex network of different phylogenetic lineages of predators, ungulates, and rodents is present. The phylogeography of mammals in western Europe has been widely studied, but central and eastern Europe have been treated cursorily. Only a few samples from these areas were analyzed in previous studies, resulting in a simplified and false description of local genetic structure. In this review, results of previous phylogeographic studies on carnivore, ungulate, and rodent species from central and eastern Europe were collected and synthesized to verify the Polish suture zone hypothesis and examine how it is affected by different variables (geomorphological features like the Carpathian Mountains and Vistula River, climate, or anthropogenic factors). Our data reflects the importance of precise studies in this region and the value they contribute to further studies of large-scale European phylogeography.
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