Phylogeography and population history of the least weasel (Mustela nivalis) in the Palearctic based on multilocus analysis

• Published in: Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research
• Main Authors: Sato, T., Abramov, A. V., Raichev, E. G., Kosintsev, P. A., Väinölä, R., Murakami, T., Kaneko, Y., Masuda, R.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2020
• Subjects: ASIP; LEAST WEASEL; MITOCHONDRIAL DNA; MUSTELA NIVALIS; ZFY; ADAPTATION; CHROMOSOME; CYTOCHROME; DEMOGRAPHY; PHYLOGENY; PHYLOGEOGRAPHY; POPULATION SIZE; REFUGIUM; BLACK SEA; RUSSIAN FAR EAST; RUSSIAN FEDERATION; AGOUTI; Arctic; Least; Mustela nivalis
• Online Access: https://elar.urfu.ru/handle/10995/90504; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/jzs.12330; http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?partnerID=8YFLogxK&scp=85075718407; http://hdl.handle.net/10995/90504; https://doi.org/10.1111/jzs.12330

The least weasel (Mustela nivalis) is one of the most widely distributed carnivorans. While previous studies have identified distinct western and eastern mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) lineages of the species in the western Palearctic, their broader distributions across the Palearctic have remained unknown. To address the broad-scale phylogeographical structure, we expanded the sampling to populations in Eastern Europe, the Urals, the Russian Far East, and Japan, and analyzed the mtDNA control region and cytochrome b, the final intron of the zinc finger protein on Y chromosome (ZFY), and the autosomal agouti signaling protein gene (ASIP). The mtDNA data analysis exposed the previous western lineage (Clade I) but poorly supported assemblage extending across Palearctic, whereas the previous eastern lineage (Clade II) was reconfirmed and limited in the south western part of the Palearctic. The ZFY phylogeny showed a distinctive split that corresponding to the mtDNA lineage split, although less phylogeographical structure was seen in the ASIP variation. Our data concur with the previous inference of the Black Sea–Caspian Sea area having an ancestral character. The Urals region harbored high mitochondrial diversity, with an estimated coalescent time of around 100,000 years, suggesting this could have been a cryptic refugium. Based on the coalescent-based demographic reconstructions, the expansion of Clade I across the Palearctic was remarkably rapid, while Clade II was relatively stable for a longer time. It seems that Clade II has maintained a constant population size in the temperate region, and the expansive Clade I represents adaptation to the cold regions. © 2019 Blackwell Verlag GmbH Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, JSPS Russian Foundation for Basic Research, RFBR Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, JSPS AAAA‐A17‐117022810195‐3 We would like to thank T. Saitoh, Y. Masuda, H. Yanagawa, F. Sekiyama, M. Takahashi, M. Hisasue, the Finnish Museum of Natural History, and the Museum at the Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology (Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences) for providing samples, and Y. Nishita for suggestions. This study was supported in part by Joint Research Project Grants from the Japan Society of the Promotion of Science (JSPS) and the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, Russian State program AAAA‐A17‐117022810195‐3, and a grant from the Joint Research Program of the Japan Arctic Research Network Center.