Population structure of Friesea grisea (Collembola, Neanuridae) in the Antarctic Peninsula and Victoria Land: evidence for local genetic differentiation of pre-Pleisotece origin

Friesea grisea is the only springtail species currently described from both East (Victoria Land) and West Antarctica (Antarctic Peninsula), although levels of genetic divergence between the two regions suggest the possibility of cryptic species. Determining the genetic structure of populations in th...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Antarctic Science
Main Authors: TORRICELLI, GIULIA, FRATI, FRANCESCO, CARAPELLI, ANTONIO, CONVEY P., TELFORD M.
Other Authors: Torricelli, Giulia, Frati, Francesco, Convey, P., Telford, M., Carapelli, Antonio
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2010
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/11365/11611
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954102010000775
http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=7929570
Description
Summary:Friesea grisea is the only springtail species currently described from both East (Victoria Land) and West Antarctica (Antarctic Peninsula), although levels of genetic divergence between the two regions suggest the possibility of cryptic species. Determining the genetic structure of populations in the two regions is necessary in order to compare the effects of the different environmental conditions in the two regions, the different evolutionary histories of their inhabitants, and for assessing any influence of latitude in each region on genetic diversity. We analysed sequences of the mitochondrial COX1 and ATP6 genes from a total of 111 individuals for 17 sites (nine on the Antarctic Peninsula and eight in Victoria Land), to assess levels of genetic diversity. Both regions have their own unique sets of haplotypes, differing by about 20% of their nucleotide sequences. A similar number of haplotypes was found in the two regions, and within each we found two groups of populations sharing no haplotypes. In the Antarctic Peninsula, two, presumably ancestral, haplotypes are dominant in frequency. In Victoria Land, the Cape Hallett population showed a distinct set of haplotypes, genetically different from the southernmost populations, suggesting differentiation on pre-Pleistocene timescales.