A new cytochrome b phylogroup of the common vole (Microtus arvalis) endemic to the Balkans and its implications for the evolutionary history of the species

Abstract

The phylogeographic architecture of the common vole, Microtus arvalis, has been well-studied using mitochondrial DNA and used to test hypotheses relating to glacial refugia. The distribution of the five described cytochrome b (cyt b) lineages in Europe west of Russia has been interpreted as a consequence of postglacial expansion from both southern and central European refugia. A recently proposed competing model suggests that the 'cradle' of the M. arvalis lineages is in western central Europe from where they dispersed in different directions after the Last Glacial Maximum. In the present study, we report a new cyt b lineage of the common vole from the Balkans that is not closely related to any other lineage and whose presence might help resolve these issues of glacial refugia. The Balkan phylogroup occurs along the southern distributional border of M. arvalis in central and eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and eastern Serbia. Further north and west in Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia, common voles belong to the previously-described Eastern lineage, whereas both lineages are sympatric in one site in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Balkan phylogroup most reasonably occupied a glacial refugium already known for various Balkan endemic species, in contrast to the recently proposed model. South-east Europe is an absolutely crucial area for understanding the postglacial colonization history of small mammals in Europe and the present study adds to the very few previous detailed phylogeographic studies of this region.

Between the Balkans and the Baltic: Phylogeography of a Common Vole Mitochondrial DNA Lineage Limited to Central Europe

“…The interpolations and plots showed a distinct reduction of genetic diversity with distance from the Carpathian Basin and are also consistent with a northward route of re-colonization from there (Figs 3 and 5). Another, previously proposed, refugial area for this lineage is the Balkan Peninsula [24], but this seems unlikely as this area is occupied by another mtDNA lineage [29]. Although there are fossil records of the common vole from the vicinity of the Carpathians at the time of the LGM [32, 33], ancient bone fragments without associated DNA cannot give an indication of which lineage was present at that time [79–81].…”

“…agrestis [26, 27]. Three of the mtDNA lineages probably originated from southern refugia (the Western-South lineage from the Iberian Peninsula, the Italian lineage and the Balkan lineage [24, 28, 29]) while three lineages probably originated in northern refugia (the Western-North lineage from a refugium located in the vicinity of central France, the Central lineage from a refugium close to the Alps and the Eastern lineage, which may have been derived from the vicinity of the Carpathian Mountains [28, 30, 31]).…”

Mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences resolve the taxonomy of field mice (Apodemus) in the western Balkan refugium

“…Bilton et al (1998) emphasized the importance of Mediterranean refugia as sites of endemism rather than a source of south-to-north oriented postglacial recolonization routes. Studies on mammals with restricted dispersal did retrieve phylogeographic lineages endemic to small areas of the Balkan peninsula, therefore providing evidence of the refugia within a refugium (Kryštufek et al 2007(Kryštufek et al , 2009Buzan et al 2010). The situation regarding field mice was evidently a different one.…”

Exploring phylogeography and species limits in the Altai vole (Rodentia: Cricetidae)

“…Among the 127 individuals attributed to arvalis, 111 different haplotypes were identified (105 previously identified by Tougard et al, 2008b andBužan et al, 2010). All new sequences were deposited in the EMBL database under accession numbers FR865393-5420.…”