Dataset Information

A molecular approach to comparative phylogeography of extant Malagasy lemurs.

ABSTRACT: The lemurs of Madagascar provide an excellent model for exploring evolutionary diversification. This study investigates genetic divergence among most extant lemur taxa in relation to potential geographical boundaries to gene flow. For this purpose, approximately 2,400 bp of mitochondrial DNA (part of the COIII gene; ND3, ND4L, and ND4 genes; and five tRNAs) were sequenced in a total of 131 lemurs from 5 families, 12 genera, 25 species, and 18 subspecies to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships among them. The comprehensive range of taxa makes this a particularly suitable molecular data set to examine lemur evolution. Those data clearly reveal that the Betsiboka River acts as an isolating barrier between populations of lemurs in north-western Madagascar. The Tsiribihina River similarly serves as a barrier to gene flow between northern and southern populations of lemurs in central western Madagascar, whereas the Mahavavy River does not seem to lead to genetic isolation of lemur populations. Several discrepancies among molecular data, current taxonomy, and geographic distribution along the western coast emerged. Examination of geographical distribution of the taxa concerned in comparison with distribution boundaries of other lemur taxa in that region yielded explanations for these inconsistencies. Eulemur fulvus and Eulemur mongoz are the only lemur taxa that also occur outside Madagascar, on the Comoro Islands. Genetic data show no significant differentiation between Malagasy and Comorian populations of these species, supporting the interpretation that both were introduced only recently to the Comoro Islands.

SUBMITTER: Pastorini J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC156295 | biostudies-literature | 2003 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

A molecular approach to comparative phylogeography of extant Malagasy lemurs.

Pastorini Jennifer J Thalmann Urs U Martin Robert D RD

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20030428 10

The lemurs of Madagascar provide an excellent model for exploring evolutionary diversification. This study investigates genetic divergence among most extant lemur taxa in relation to potential geographical boundaries to gene flow. For this purpose, approximately 2,400 bp of mitochondrial DNA (part of the COIII gene; ND3, ND4L, and ND4 genes; and five tRNAs) were sequenced in a total of 131 lemurs from 5 families, 12 genera, 25 species, and 18 subspecies to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships ...[more]

PMID: 12719521

Similar Datasets

Project description:The Mississippi Embayment is a prominent physiographic feature of eastern North America consisting of primarily lowland aquatic habitats and a fish fauna that is largely distinct from nearby highland regions. Numerous studies have demonstrated that both pre-Pleistocene and Pleistocene events have had a strong influence on the distributions and relationships of highland fishes in eastern North America. However, the extent to which these same events affected Embayment distributed taxa remains largely unexplored. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relative roles of pre-Pleistocene and Pleistocene events in shaping phylogeographic relationships of four stream dwelling fishes in the Mississippi Embayment. Molecular genetic analyses of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome b were performed for three ictalurid catfish species (Noturus miurus, n = 67; Noturus hildebrandi, n = 93, and Noturus phaeus, n = 44) and one minnow species (Cyprinella camura, n = 78), all distributed in tributary streams of the Mississippi Embayment. Phylogenetic relationships and divergence times among haplotypes for each species were estimated using maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods. Phylogenetic analyses recovered 6 major haplotype clades within N. miurus, 5 within N. hildbrandi, 8 within N. phaeus, and 8 within C. camura. All three Noturus species show a high degree of isolation by drainage, which is less evident in C. camura. A clade of haplotypes from tributaries in the southern portion of the Mississippi Embayment was consistently recovered in all four species. Divergence times among clades spanned the Pleistocene, Pliocene, and Miocene. Novel relationships presented here for C. camura and N. phaeus suggest the potential for cryptic species. Pre-Pleistocene and Pleistocene era sea level fluctuations coincide with some divergence events, but no single event explains any common divergence across all taxa. Like their highland relatives, a combination of both pre-Pleistocene and Pleistocene era events have driven divergences among Embayment lineages.

Dataset Information

A molecular approach to comparative phylogeography of extant Malagasy lemurs.

Publications

A molecular approach to comparative phylogeography of extant Malagasy lemurs.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets