Department of Natural Resources, Isfahan University of Technology, 84156-83111, Isfahan, Iran.
Department of Environmental Science, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
Sci Rep. 2022 Feb 28;12(1):3293. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-07369-z.
The Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) is one of the widespread felids in Eurasia; however, relatively little is known about the Asian subspecies, and especially the Iranian populations, which comprise the most southwestern part of its range. The current study aimed to assess the phylogenetic status of Iranian populations relative to other populations of Eurasia, by sequencing a 613 bp fragment of the mitochondrial control region. In total, 44 haplotypes were recorded from 83 sequences throughout Eurasia, two of which were found in Iran. The haplotype (H1) is dominant in all Iranian lynx populations and identical to specimens from SW Russia and central China. The second haplotype (H2) is unique and was recorded only from Ghazvin Province in the central Alborz Mountains. Both haplotypes occur in Ghazvin Province. The phylogenetic tree and a median-joining network identified four clades (i.e., East, West 1, West 2, and South). These results are congruent with previous studies and suggest that Eurasian lynx was restricted to the southern part of its range during the glacial maxima and expanded from there to East Asia and to Europe during several independent re-colonization events. The Caucasus region most like plays an important role as a refugium during glacial cycles.
欧亚猞猁（Lynx lynx）是欧亚大陆广泛分布的猫科动物之一；然而，对于亚洲亚种，特别是其分布范围最西南部的伊朗种群，人们知之甚少。本研究旨在通过对线粒体控制区 613bp 片段进行测序，评估伊朗种群与欧亚其他种群的系统发育地位。总共从欧亚大陆的 83 个序列中记录了 44 个单倍型，其中 2 个在伊朗发现。单倍型（H1）在所有伊朗猞猁种群中占优势，与来自俄罗斯西南部和中国中部的标本相同。第二个单倍型（H2）是独特的，仅在阿尔伯兹山脉中部的加兹温省记录到。这两个单倍型都出现在加兹温省。系统发育树和中位数连接网络确定了四个分支（即东部、西部 1 支、西部 2 支和南部支）。这些结果与先前的研究一致，表明欧亚猞猁在冰川最大值期间局限于其分布范围的南部，并在几次独立的再殖民事件中从那里扩展到东亚和欧洲。高加索地区在冰期循环中最像一个避难所。
