Data from: Brown and polar bear Y chromosomes reveal extensive male-biased gene flow within brother lineages ...

• Main Authors: Bidon, Tobias, Janke, Axel, Fain, Steven R., Eiken, Hans Geir, Hagen, Snorre B., Saarma, Urmas, Hallström, Björn M., Lecomte, Nicolas, Hailer, Frank
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2015
• Subjects: STR; Ursus arctos; Y chromosome; bear; Ursus maritimus
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.3p21q; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.3p21q

Brown and polar bears have become prominent examples in phylogeography, but previous phylogeographic studies relied largely on maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) or were geographically restricted. The male-specific Y chromosome, a natural counterpart to mtDNA, has remained under-explored. Although this paternally inherited chromosome is indispensable for comprehensive analyses of phylogeographic patterns, technical difficulties and low variability have hampered its application in most mammals. We developed 13 novel Y-chromosomal sequence and microsatellite markers from the polar bear genome, and screened these in a broad geographic sample of 130 brown and polar bears. We also analyzed a 390 kb-long Y-chromosomal scaffold using sequencing data from published male ursine genomes. Y chromosome evidence support the emerging understanding that brown and polar bears started to diverge no later than the Middle Pleistocene. Contrary to mtDNA patterns, we found (i) brown and polar bears to be reciprocally ... : Y STR Allele sizesA table of allele sizes of 9 Y STR markers from 134 individualsSubmission DRYAD allele sizes.xlsx ...