Dataset Information

American mastodon mitochondrial genomes suggest multiple dispersal events in response to Pleistocene climate oscillations.

ABSTRACT: Pleistocene glacial-interglacial cycles are correlated with dramatic temperature oscillations. Examining how species responded to these natural fluctuations can provide valuable insights into the impacts of present-day anthropogenic climate change. Here we present a phylogeographic study of the extinct American mastodon (Mammut americanum), based on 35 complete mitochondrial genomes. These data reveal the presence of multiple lineages within this species, including two distinct clades from eastern Beringia. Our molecular date estimates suggest that these clades arose at different times, supporting a pattern of repeated northern expansion and local extirpation in response to glacial cycling. Consistent with this hypothesis, we also note lower levels of genetic diversity among northern mastodons than in endemic clades south of the continental ice sheets. The results of our study highlight the complex relationships between population dispersals and climate change, and can provide testable hypotheses for extant species expected to experience substantial biogeographic impacts from rising temperatures.

SUBMITTER: Karpinski E

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7463256 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

American mastodon mitochondrial genomes suggest multiple dispersal events in response to Pleistocene climate oscillations.

Karpinski Emil E Hackenberger Dirk D Zazula Grant G Widga Chris C Duggan Ana T AT Golding G Brian GB Kuch Melanie M Klunk Jennifer J Jass Christopher N CN Groves Pam P Druckenmiller Patrick P Schubert Blaine W BW Arroyo-Cabrales Joaquin J Simpson William F WF Hoganson John W JW Fisher Daniel C DC Ho Simon Y W SYW MacPhee Ross D E RDE Poinar Hendrik N HN

Nature communications 20200901 1

Pleistocene glacial-interglacial cycles are correlated with dramatic temperature oscillations. Examining how species responded to these natural fluctuations can provide valuable insights into the impacts of present-day anthropogenic climate change. Here we present a phylogeographic study of the extinct American mastodon (Mammut americanum), based on 35 complete mitochondrial genomes. These data reveal the presence of multiple lineages within this species, including two distinct clades from easte ...[more]

PMID: 32873779

Similar Datasets

Project description:Pleistocene climatic oscillations and historical geological events may both influence current patterns of genetic variation, and the species in southern China that faced unique climatic and topographical events have complex evolutionary histories. However, the relative contributions of climatic oscillations and geographical events to the genetic variation of these species remain undetermined. To investigate patterns of genetic variation and to test the hypotheses about the factors that shaped the distribution of this genetic variation in species of southern China, mitochondrial genes (cytochrome b and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2) and nine microsatellite loci of the Omei tree frog (Rhacophorus omeimontis) were amplified in this study.The genetic diversity in the populations of R. omeimontis was high. The phylogenetic trees reconstructed from the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotypes and the Bayesian genetic clustering analysis based on microsatellite data both revealed that all populations were divided into three lineages (SC, HG and YN). The two most recent splitting events among the lineages coincided with recent geological events (including the intense uplift of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, QTP and the subsequent movements of the Yun-Gui Plateau, YGP) and the Pleistocene glaciations. Significant expansion signals were not detected in mismatch analyses or neutrality tests. And the effective population size of each lineage was stable during the Pleistocene.Based on the results of this study, complex geological events (the recent dramatic uplift of the QTP and the subsequent movements of the YGP) and the Pleistocene glaciations were apparent drivers of the rapid divergence of the R. omeimontis lineages. Each diverged lineages survived in situ with limited gene exchanges, and the stable demographics of lineages indicate that the Pleistocene climatic oscillations were inconsequential for this species. The analysis of genetic variation in populations of R. omeimontis contributes to the understanding of the effects of changes in climate and of geographical events on the dynamic development of contemporary patterns of genetic variation in the species of southern China.

Dataset Information

American mastodon mitochondrial genomes suggest multiple dispersal events in response to Pleistocene climate oscillations.

Publications

American mastodon mitochondrial genomes suggest multiple dispersal events in response to Pleistocene climate oscillations.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets