Ancient DNA Reveals Maternal Philopatry of the Northeast Eurasian Brown Bear (Ursus arctos) Population during the Holocene

Abstract

Significant palaeoecological and paleoclimatic changes that took place during Late Pleistocene—Early Holocene transition are considered important factors that led to megafauna extinctions. Unlike many other species, the brown bear (Ursus arctos) has survived this geological time. Despite the fact that several mitochondrial DNA clades of brown bears became extinct at the end of the Pleistocene, this species is still widely distributed in Northeast Eurasia. Here, using the ancient DNA analysis of a brown bear individual that inhabited Northeast Asia in the Middle Holocene (3460 ± 40 years BP) and comparative phylogenetic analysis, we show a significant mitochondrial DNA similarity of the studied specimen with modern brown bears inhabiting Yakutia and Chukotka. In this study, we clearly demonstrate the maternal philopatry of the Northeastern Eurasian U. arctos population during the several thousand years of the Holocene.

Ancient DNA of the Don-Hares Assumes the Existence of Two Distinct Mitochondrial Clades in Northeast Asia

“…Museum specimens are being used more and more often in evolutionary and conservation biology for solving fundamental and applied problems using a novel arsenal of molecular genetic techniques. DNA isolation from museum specimens and high-capacity DNA sequencing opens up new opportunities, associated with the investigation of the extinct or endangered species’ evolution and phylogeny [ 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ]. In the previous study, comparative phylogenetic analysis of L. tanaiticus and L. timidus specimens, based on a 338-base pair (bp) fragment of the D-Loop of the mitochondrial genome, has not supported the assumption that L. tanaiticus and L. timidus belong to different species [ 23 ].…”