Molecular Phylogeny of the Subgenus Karstomys Reveals Genetic Signature of Post-Glacial Colonization of Apodemus mystacinus (Rodentia: Muridae) in the Zagros Mountains from Different Refugia

• Published in: Zoological science Vol. 38; no. 1; p. 72
• Main Authors: Mohammadi, Zeinolabedin, Ghorbani, Fatemeh, Kami, Haji Gholi, Khajeh, Asghar, Olsson, Urban
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan 01.02.2021
• Subjects: Animals; DNA, Mitochondrial; Genetic Variation; Haplotypes; Murinae - classification; Murinae - genetics; Phylogeography; Refugium; Sequence Analysis, DNA; secondary contact zone; Eastern Mediterranean; cytb; historical demography; rodent; Pleistocene
• ISSN: 0289-0003
• DOI: 10.2108/zs200065

Eastern broad-toothed field mouse, , is a rocky habitat dwelling rodent distributed in Asia Minor, the Levant, the Caucasus, and the Zagros Mountains. In this study, we investigated the phylogenetic relationship between different populations of throughout its range, based on the mitochondrial marker. Phylogenetic analyses revealed the existence of five separately evolving lineages within , of which two previously unrecognized lineages were identified in the Zagros Mountains and the Levant. Divergence between two major clades of the subgenus , corresponding to and , is inferred to coincide with the Messinian Salinity Crisis (Late Miocene), whereas the splits between major lineages of are inferred to have occurred during the Pleistocene. Colonization of the Zagros may have occurred from different refugia via eastward migration of the Turkish population and then again by a more recent colonization from the Caucasus, after reopening of the land corridor between the Caucasus and the Zagros Mountains during the Holocene drought.