Institute of Ecology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
Mol Ecol. 2012 Oct;21(20):4983-95. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2012.05758.x. Epub 2012 Sep 21.
Mechanisms of survival during the Pleistocene glaciation periods have been studied for more than a century. Until now, molecular studies that confirmed animal survival on Alpine nunataks, that is, ice-free summits surrounded by glaciers, were restricted to peripheral areas. Here, we search for molecular signatures of inner-Alpine survival of the narrow endemic and putatively parthenogenetic Alpine jumping bristletail Machilis pallida combining mitochondrial and AFLP data from its three known populations. The mitochondrial data indicate survival on both peripheral and central nunataks, the latter suggesting that refugia in the centre of the Alpine main ridge were more widespread than previously recognized. Incongruences between mitochondrial and AFLP patterns suggest a complex evolutionary history of the species and may be explained via parallel fixation of parthenogenesis of different origins during the last glacial maximum. We suggest that the inferred parthenogenesis may have been essential for central nunatak survival, but may pose a serious threat for M. pallida in consideration of the present climatic changes.
对更新世冰川期的生存机制的研究已经进行了一个多世纪。直到现在，确认动物在阿尔卑斯山冰原孤岛（即被冰川环绕的无冰山顶）上生存的分子研究仅限于周边地区。在这里，我们结合来自其三个已知种群的线粒体和 AFLP 数据，搜索窄生态位和可能的单性生殖阿尔卑斯跳虫 Machilis pallida 在内部阿尔卑斯山生存的分子特征。线粒体数据表明在周边和中心冰原孤岛都有生存，后者表明阿尔卑斯山主脊中心的避难所比以前认为的更为广泛。线粒体和 AFLP 模式之间的不一致表明该物种具有复杂的进化历史，这可能是通过在末次冰盛期不同起源的单性生殖的平行固定来解释的。我们认为，推断出的单性生殖对于中心冰原孤岛的生存可能是必不可少的，但考虑到当前的气候变化，这可能对 M. pallida 构成严重威胁。
