Phylogeography of the Alpine salamander,Salamandra atra(Salamandridae) and the influence of the Pleistocene climatic oscillations on population divergence

Abstract

Fifty individuals of the endemic Alpine salamander, Salamandra atra, representing 13 populations throughout the range of the two currently recognized subspecies, atra and aurorae, were examined for sequence variation in a large portion (1050 bp) of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. We revealed a large number of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotypes (10). Interpopulation sequence divergence was very low, ranging from 0 to 3.1%. The relationships among haplotypes were poorly resolved. The divergence time estimate between several mtDNA haplotypes suggested a pre-Pleistocene differentiation approximately 3 million years ago. Moreover, the impact of the Pleistocene glaciations on the phylogeographical patterns appears to have been secondary, although a somewhat reduced genetic variability was found in populations living in areas that were directly affected by the glaciation.

Evolution of the melanistic colour in the Alpine salamanderSalamandra atraas revealed by a new subspecies from the Venetian Prealps

“…All these analyses are consistent in suggesting an early separation of the S. atra aurorae lineage within the S. atra group but a phylogenetic tree based on the mitochondrial cytochrome b (Ribéron, 1999;Ribéron et al, 2001) and a similarity tree based on the AFLP technique (Ribéron et al, 2004) differ from our phylogeny by suggesting a close relationship between S. a. aurorae and some northern Dalmatian populations. However, both the latter analyses used samples from Dalmatian localities different to ours, which might be essential for the outcome.…”

“…However, both the latter analyses used samples from Dalmatian localities different to ours, which might be essential for the outcome. Moreover, mitochondrial (Cyt b gene; Ribéron et al, 2001) and nuclear genes (AFLP tree; Ribéron et al, 2004) seem to suggest significantly different phylogenetic hypotheses.…”

“…Previous phylogenetic analyses of the S. atra group (Ribéron, 1999;Steinfartz et al, 2000;Ribéron et al, 2001Ribéron et al, , 2004 did not include the peculiar population from the Pasubio massif and were therefore not suitable for exploring the evolution of body colour within S. atra. All these analyses are consistent in suggesting an early separation of the S. atra aurorae lineage within the S. atra group but a phylogenetic tree based on the mitochondrial cytochrome b (Ribéron, 1999;Ribéron et al, 2001) and a similarity tree based on the AFLP technique (Ribéron et al, 2004) differ from our phylogeny by suggesting a close relationship between S. a. aurorae and some northern Dalmatian populations.…”

High mitochondrial diversity within and among populations of Malagasy poison frogs

“…Riberon et al (2002) observed an extreme instance of lack of genetic diversity in Salamandra lanzai, with 44 specimens from 12 populations being totally invariant over 1050 bp of cytochrome b. Similarly, in 50 individuals from 13 populations of the highland Salamandra atra, no genetic variation was found within populations, while interpopulation genetic distance was 0-3.1% (Riberon et al, 2001). Garc ı ıa-Paris and Jockusch (1999) found only four haplotypes in seven populations of painted frogs (Discoglossus galganoi) over a wide geographic area, with haplotype divergences of 0.3-1.6%.…”

Late Pleistocene fossils and the future distribution of Rana temporaria (Amphibia, Anura) along the Apennine Peninsula (Italy)

“…In recent years, phylogeographic studies have used genetic and molecular methods for investigating the history of the distribution of various taxa of amphibians (among others: Duellman 1999; Riberon et al 2001;Zeisset and Beebee 2001;Bonnet and Chippindale 2004;Vences et al 2004;Alexandrino et al 2007;Crottini et al 2007;Recuero et al 2007;Vences and Wake 2007;Stöck et al 2008;Shepard and Burbrink 2009;Mattoccia et al 2011;Chiari et al 2012). As far as Europe is concerned, Rana temporaria has been the subject of several papers (Veith et al 2003;Palo et al 2004;Gómez and Lunt 2006;Zeisset and Beebee 2008;Teacher et al 2009;Stefani et al 2012), probably because its current broad range (Gasc et al 1997;Kuzmin 1999;Sillero et al 2014) and the fact that it is adapted to relatively cold environments render this species a good model for evaluating the range changes that occurred during and after the Pleistocene coolings.…”