Polyphyletic Origin of the Small-Bodied, High-Arctic Subspecies of Tundra Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus)

Gravlund, Peter; Meldgaard, Morten; Pääbo, Svante; Arctander, Peter

doi:10.1006/mpev.1998.0525

Cited by 47 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 23 publications

(27 reference statements)

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“…For the Arctic forms, a common North American origin is particularly well supported for eogroenlandicus and pearyi, as these subspecies shared a common mtDNA haplotype as reported by Gravlund et al (1998). When the ice retreated, colonizers appear to have migrated across the Canadian archipelago and eventually reached Eastern Greenland.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 67%

“…When the ice retreated, colonizers appear to have migrated across the Canadian archipelago and eventually reached Eastern Greenland. Gravlund et al (1998) reported similar mtDNA haplotype among Svalbard reindeer and a specimen from the Taimyr peninsula in northern Russia and suggested a diphyletic origin of the Arctic ecotype with an Eurasian origin of the Svalbard reindeer. However, in the extensive study by Flagstad & Røed (2003), the most common mtDNA haplotype found on Svalbard was identical to the only haplotype found more than once in the Quebec region in Canada, supporting a North American colonization route towards Svalbard.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 73%

“…This subspecies also has relatively low levels of genetic variability (Table 2). Reduced genetic variability for caribou on Greenland, as also detected by Gravlund et al (1998) and by Jepsen et al (2002), could be a result of the many natural barriers as glaciers and wide fjords in this area together with extreme fluctuations in population size (Jepsen et al, 2002). Somewhat reduced variability was also indicated in the two populations of woodland caribou (R.t. caribou), and to some extent also in the Peary caribou (R.t. pearyi) ( Table 2).…”

Section: Microsatellite Variationmentioning

confidence: 77%

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Refugial origin and postglacial colonization of holarctic reindeer and caribou

Røed

2005

Ran

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Abstract:The classification and colonization of reindeer and caribou (Rangifer tarandus) was assessed from analysis of both proteins, nuclear DNA and mitochondrial DNA. I demonstrate that the current subspecies designations are not compatible with the differentiation at these markers, suggesting that the morphological differences among extant subspecies did not evolve in separate glacial refugia. Thus, morphological differences among extant subspecies probably evolved as adaptive responses to post-glacial environmental changes. An exception to this is the North American woodland caribou, where all three marker systems support a subspecies-specific refugium as the ancestral origin of these animals. Three major mtDNA haplogroups reported, represent three separate origins of the species during the last glaciation. The most influential origin has contributed to the gene pool of all extant subspecies, suggesting the existence of a large and continuous glacial population ranging across extensive areas of tundra in Eurasia and Beringia. The North American tundra forms (R.t. granti and groenlandicus) and the arctic forms (R.t platyrhynchus, R.t pearyi and R.t eogroenlandicus) almost exclusively comprise haplotypes of such an origin. Another small and isolated refugium seems to have arisen in western Eurasia in close connection to the extensive ice sheet that covered Fennoscandia. The two Eurasian subspecies R.t. tarandus and R.t. fennicus appear to have a diphyletic origin as both the putatively small and isolated Eurasian refugium and the large Beringia refugium have contributed to their gene pools. A third distinct and geographically well-defined refugial area was probably located south to the extensive North American continental ice sheet from where the ancestors of the present North American woodland caribou (R.t. caribou) likely originated.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 67%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 73%

Section: Microsatellite Variationmentioning

confidence: 77%

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Refugial origin and postglacial colonization of holarctic reindeer and caribou

Røed

2005

Ran

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“…Haplogroup I exclusively consists of haplotypes found among Fennoscandian individuals. Haplotypes belonging to this group were not represented among the Russian domestic herds, but was found in a previous study in three of 23 individuals from the Taimyr Peninsula (Gravlund et al 1998). Haplogroup II comprises haplotypes found among the North American woodland caribou together with two haplotypes found in two individuals of barrenground origin (Gro7 and Gro101).…”

Section: Phylogenetic Relationshipsmentioning

confidence: 65%

“…Røed et al (1986) found distinct similarities at the transferrin locus between Svalbard reindeer and Peary caribou, suggesting a common origin of the high Arctic forms (Røed et al 1986). Gravlund et al (1998), however, showed that Svalbard reindeer had a slightly smaller mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genetic distance to Eurasian mainland populations than to the high Arctic forms on Greenland and the Canadian Arctic islands and suggested a diphyletic origin of the Arctic ecotype.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Refugial Origins of Reindeer (Rangifer Tarandus L.) Inferred From Mitochondrial Dna Sequences

2003

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Abstract. The glacial-interglacial cycles of the upper Pleistocene have had a major impact on the recent evolutionary history of Arctic species. To assess the effects of these large-scale climatic fluctuations to a large, migratory Arctic mammal, we assessed the phylogeography of reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) as inferred from mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence variation in the control region. Phylogenetic relationships among haplotypes seem to reflect historical patterns of fragmentation and colonization rather than clear-cut relationships among extant populations and subspecies. Three major haplogroups were detected, presumably representing three separate populations during the last glacial. The most influential one has contributed to the gene pool of all extant subspecies and seems to represent a large and continuous glacial population extending from Beringia and far into Eurasia. A smaller, more localized refugium was most likely isolated in connection with ice expansion in western Eurasia. A third glacial refugium was presumably located south of the ice sheet in North America, possibly comprising several separate refugial populations. Significant demographic population expansion was detected for the two haplogroups representing the western Eurasian and Beringian glacial populations. The former apparently expanded when the ice cap retreated by the end of the last glacial. The large continuous one, in contrast, seems to have expanded by the end of the last interglacial, indicating that the warm interglacial climate accompanied by marine transgression and forest expansion significantly confined population size on the continental mainland. Our data demonstrate that the current subspecies designation does not reflect the mtDNA phylogeography of the species, which in turn may indicate that morphological differences among subspecies have evolved as adaptive responses to postglacial environmental change.

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Inferences about the population history of Rangifer tarandus from Y chromosome and mtDNA phylogenies

Bozlak,

Pokharel,

Weldenegodguad

et al. 2024

Ecology and Evolution

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Reindeer, called caribou in North America, has a circumpolar distribution and all extant populations belong to the same species (Rangifer tarandus). It has survived the Holocene thanks to its immense adaptability and successful coexistence with humans in different forms of hunting and herding cultures. Here, we examine the paternal and maternal history of Rangifer based on robust Y‐chromosomal and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) trees representing Eurasian tundra reindeer, Finnish forest reindeer, Svalbard reindeer, Alaska tundra caribou, and woodland caribou. We first assembled Y‐chromosomal contigs, representing 1.3 Mb of single‐copy Y regions. Based on 545 Y‐chromosomal and 458 mtDNA SNPs defined in 55 males, maximum parsimony trees were created. We observed two well separated clades in both phylogenies: the “EuroBeringian clade” formed by animals from Arctic Islands, Eurasia, and a few from North America and the “North American clade” formed only by caribou from North America. The time calibrated Y tree revealed an expansion and dispersal of lineages across continents after the Last Glacial Maximum. We show for the first time unique paternal lineages in Svalbard reindeer and Finnish forest reindeer and reveal a circumscribed Y haplogroup in Fennoscandian tundra reindeer. The Y chromosome in domesticated reindeer is markedly diverse indicating that several male lineages have undergone domestication and less intensive selection on males. This study places R. tarandus onto the list of species with resolved Y and mtDNA phylogenies and builds the basis for studies of the distribution and origin of paternal and maternal lineages in the future.

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Polyphyletic Origin of the Small-Bodied, High-Arctic Subspecies of Tundra Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus)

Cited by 47 publications

References 23 publications

Refugial origin and postglacial colonization of holarctic reindeer and caribou

Refugial origin and postglacial colonization of holarctic reindeer and caribou

Refugial Origins of Reindeer (Rangifer Tarandus L.) Inferred From Mitochondrial Dna Sequences

Inferences about the population history of Rangifer tarandus from Y chromosome and mtDNA phylogenies

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