Differentiation under isolation and genetic structure of Sardinian hares as revealed by craniometric analysis, mitochondrial DNA and microsatellites

Canu, Antonio; Suchentrunk, Franz; Cossu, Antonio; Foddai, R; Iacolina, Laura; Slimen, Hichem Ben; Apollonio, Marco; Scandura, Massimo

doi:10.1111/j.1439-0469.2012.00671.x

Cited by 9 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 61 publications

(74 reference statements)

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“…The genetic differentiation between Montes Forest and Mount Tonneri sub-populations could be the consequence of the landscape alterations (mainly due to a road expansion campaign started ~ 40 years ago), which may have led to the genetic depletion of the original gene pool by hindering gene exchange, and finally determining their genetic isolation. Similar situations were reported for the Californian desert bighorn sheep 50 and other Sardinian macrofauna species such as wild boar and hare 51 , 52 .…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Genetic characterization and implications for conservation of the last autochthonous Mouflon population in Europe

Satta

Mereu

Barbato

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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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.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Genetic characterization and implications for conservation of the last autochthonous Mouflon population in Europe

Satta

Mereu

Barbato

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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“…Thus, the recent evolution of hare populations poses interesting questions to both theoretical and applied conservation biology. Peninsular Italy and its major islands host four species of Lepus: (1) the mountain hare that is distributed throughout the Alps; (2) the brown hare, which has been widely translocated for hunting purposes beyond its natural range in hills and plains of northern and central Italy; (3) the Sardinian hare (L. capensis mediterraneus) of African origins that was anciently introduced in Sardinia (Canu et al 2012); and (4) the endemic Italian hare, described in 1898 by W.E. de Winton as a distinct species, but that was immediately downgraded to a subspecies of the brown hare (Miller 1912;Ellerman and Morrison-Scott 1951;Toschi 1965).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic diversity and no evidences of recent hybridization in the endemic Italian hare (Lepus corsicanus)

2014

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Fragmented populations of the endemic Italian hare (Lepus corsicanus) survive at low density in central and southern Italy, in Sicily and Corsica, where the species was introduced in the sixteenth century. Fragmentation and hybridization with widespread brown hares (L. europaeus), which were introduced outside their natural ranges, may threaten the survival and genetic integrity of the Italian hare. With the exception of a few cases of hybrids identified in Corsica, hybridization was not documented in the Italian hare. In this study, we aimed to assess the genetic diversity in the Italian hare populations and identify possible interspecific hybrids with the brown hare. We genotyped 458 samples belonging to the four species of Lepus distributed in Italy (the mountain hare, the brown hare, the Sardinian hare and the Italian hare) using maternal and biparental markers (mtDNA control-region, 13 autosomal microsatellites, 9 autosomal SNPs). Results confirmed sharp interspecific genetic distinctions among the four species. We did not find interspecific hybrids in Italian hares, with the exception of two cases of L. corsicanus mtDNA introgression in two L. europaeus individuals. The Italian hares in Sicily are genetically distinct, in consequence of long-lasting isolation. Peninsular populations show instances of recent genetic diversification in consequence of anthropogenic fragmentation. Our findings point to consider the conservation of the Sicilian population as a priority, discouraging introductions of exotic hares into the island. Habitat restoration and a net of ecological corridors could help the survival and expansion of threatened L. corsicanus populations in peninsular Italy. Massive releases of brown hares for hunting purposes should be avoided in areas of sympatry with the Italian hares.

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“…corsicanus and L . europaeus ; Yom-Tov[35], Suchentrunk et al[36], Ben Slimen et al[37], for hares from Israel; Ben Slimen et al[38,21], for hares from Tunisia; Palacios et al[39], and Suchentrunk et al[40,41], for cape hares from South Africa; Scandura et al[42] and Canu et al[43] for hares from Sardinia; Liu et al[9,44] for hares from China; Nunome et al[45], for Japanese hares).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA reveals reticulate evolution in hares (Lepus spp., Lagomorpha, Mammalia) from Ethiopia

et al. 2017

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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.

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Differentiation under isolation and genetic structure of Sardinian hares as revealed by craniometric analysis, mitochondrial DNA and microsatellites

Cited by 9 publications

References 61 publications

Genetic characterization and implications for conservation of the last autochthonous Mouflon population in Europe

Genetic characterization and implications for conservation of the last autochthonous Mouflon population in Europe

Genetic diversity and no evidences of recent hybridization in the endemic Italian hare (Lepus corsicanus)

Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA reveals reticulate evolution in hares (Lepus spp., Lagomorpha, Mammalia) from Ethiopia

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