Khanal Laxman, Li Xueyou, Subba Asmit, Ulak Sapana, Kyes Randall C, Jiang Xue-Long
Central Department of Zoology, Institute of Science and Technology, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu 44618, Nepal.
Key Laboratory of Genetic Evolution and Animal Models, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, Yunnan, China.
Biology (Basel). 2024 Oct 4;13(10):795. doi: 10.3390/biology13100795.
Owing to the taxonomic incongruence between the morphological features and genetic relationships of the group of macaques (genus ), the taxonomy of this macaque group has remained inconclusive. We aimed to resolve the taxonomic quandary and improve our understanding of the historical biogeography of the group by including macaque DNA samples from previously unsampled areas in the Himalayas. We sequenced and analyzed three mitochondrial DNA loci [cytochrome b (CYTB), cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) and D-loop; 2898 bp] for sequence polymorphism, phylogenetics, species delimitation, and ancestral area reconstruction. We confirmed the occurrence of Arunachal macaque () on the southern slopes of the Eastern Himalayas in the Xizang Zizhiqu (Tibet Autonomous Region) of China. The results revealed that the group of macaques is a parapatric species group composed of seven distinct species. Phylogenetic and species delimitation analyses revealed that the two previously considered subspecies of Assamese macaques (the eastern subspecies and the western subspecies ) are two distinct species. The eastern Assamese macaque is a sister species to the Tibetan macaque, whereas the western Assamese macaque and Arunachal macaque are the closest genetic sister species. The group of macaques underwent five vicariance and seven dispersal radiations in the past, which mainly coincided with the Quaternary climatic oscillations between the late Pliocene and the late Pleistocene. By integrating our phylogenetic and ancestral area reconstruction results with findings from previous paleontological and molecular studies, we propose a robust hypothesis about the phylogeography of the group of macaques.
由于猕猴属（Macaca）类群的形态特征与遗传关系之间存在分类学不一致性，该猕猴类群的分类一直没有定论。我们旨在通过纳入来自喜马拉雅山脉以前未采样地区的猕猴DNA样本，解决分类学难题并增进对该类群历史生物地理学的理解。我们对三个线粒体DNA位点[细胞色素b（CYTB）、细胞色素氧化酶亚基1（COI）和D环；2898碱基对]进行了测序和分析，以研究序列多态性、系统发育、物种界定和祖先区域重建。我们证实了在中国西藏自治区喜马拉雅山东部南坡存在阿萨姆邦猕猴（Macaca assamensis）。结果表明，猕猴类群是一个由七个不同物种组成的邻域分布物种群。系统发育和物种界定分析表明，阿萨姆邦猕猴先前被认为的两个亚种（东部亚种M. assamensis assamensis和西部亚种M. assamensis pelops）是两个不同的物种。东部阿萨姆邦猕猴是藏猕猴的姐妹物种，而西部阿萨姆邦猕猴和阿萨姆邦猕猴是遗传关系最密切的姐妹物种。猕猴类群在过去经历了五次隔离分化和七次扩散辐射，这主要与上新世晚期至更新世晚期的第四纪气候振荡相吻合。通过将我们的系统发育和祖先区域重建结果与先前古生物学和分子研究的结果相结合，我们提出了一个关于猕猴类群系统地理学的有力假设。
