Mamat Miregul, Shan Wenjuan, Dong Pengcheng, Zhou Shiyu, Liu Peng, Meng Yang, Nie Wenyue, Teng Peichen, Zhang Yucong
Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Genetic Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi, China.
Front Genet. 2023 Mar 20;13:1018632. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2022.1018632. eCollection 2022.
The main topic of population genetics and evolutionary biology is the influence of the ecological environment, geographical isolation, and climatic factors on population structure and history. Here, we estimated the genetic diversity, genetic structure, and population history of two subspecies of Tolai hares ( Pallas, 1778), inhabiting Northern and Northwest Xinjiang and inhabiting Central and Eastern Xinjiang using SNP of specific-length amplified fragment sequencing (SLAF-seq) and four mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Our results showed a relatively high degree of genetic diversity for Tolai hares, and the diversity of was slightly higher than that of , likely due to the more favorable ecological environment, such as woodlands and plains Phylogenetic analysis from SNP and mtDNA indicated a rough phylogeographical distribution pattern among Tolai hares. Strong differentiation was found between the two subspecies and the two geographical groups in , possibly due to the geographical isolation of mountains, basins, and deserts. However, gene flow was also detected between the two subspecies, which might be attributed to the Tianshan Corridor and the strong migration ability of hares. Tolai hare population differentiation occurred at approximately 1.2377 MYA. Population history analysis based on SNP and mtDNA showed that the Tolai hare population has a complex history and was less affected by the glacial event, possibly because its geographic location and terrain conditions weaken the drastic climate fluctuations. In conclusion, our results indicated that the joint effect of ecological environment, geographic events, and climatic factors might play important roles in the evolutionary process of and , thus resulting in differentiation, gene exchange, and different population history.
群体遗传学和进化生物学的主要研究主题是生态环境、地理隔离和气候因素对种群结构和历史的影响。在此，我们利用特定长度扩增片段测序（SLAF-seq）的单核苷酸多态性（SNP）和4种线粒体DNA（mtDNA），估计了分布于新疆北部和西北部以及新疆中部和东部的两种草兔亚种（帕拉斯，1778年）的遗传多样性、遗传结构和种群历史。我们的结果显示草兔具有相对较高的遗传多样性，且[未提及的某个亚种]的多样性略高于[另一个未提及的亚种]，这可能是由于更有利的生态环境，如林地和平原。基于SNP和mtDNA的系统发育分析表明草兔之间存在大致的系统地理分布模式。在[未提及的某个群体]的两个亚种和两个地理组之间发现了强烈分化，这可能是由于山脉、盆地和沙漠的地理隔离所致。然而，在两个亚种之间也检测到了基因流，这可能归因于天山走廊和草兔较强的迁移能力。草兔种群分化大约发生在123.77万年前。基于SNP和mtDNA的种群历史分析表明，草兔种群历史复杂，[未提及的某个群体]受冰川事件的影响较小，这可能是因为其地理位置和地形条件减弱了剧烈的气候波动。总之，我们的结果表明，生态环境、地理事件和气候因素的共同作用可能在[未提及的某个群体]和[另一个未提及的群体]的进化过程中发挥重要作用，从而导致分化、基因交流和不同的种群历史。
