The evolutionary history of the two karyotypic groups of the common shrew, Sorex araneus, in Poland

• Published in: Heredity Vol. 88; no. 4; pp. 235 - 242
• Main Authors: Ratkiewicz, M, Fedyk, S, Banaszek, A, Gielly, L, Chetnicki, W, Jadwiszczak, K, Taberlet, P
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Springer Nature B.V 01.04.2002
• Subjects: Animals; Biological Evolution; Chromosomes - genetics; Cytochrome; cytochrome b; Cytochrome b Group - genetics; DNA, Mitochondrial - metabolism; Female; Genetics, Population; Haplotypes; Isoenzymes - genetics; Karyotyping; Male; Pleistocene; Poland; Recolonization; Shrews - genetics; Sorex araneus; Poland
• ISSN: 0018-067X; 1365-2540
• DOI: 10.1038/sj.hdy.6800032

Genetic variability within and among two karyotypic groups and five chromosome races of the common shrew (Sorex araneus) in Poland was assayed by sequencing a 1023 bp part of the cytochrome b gene (mtDNA) from 28 individuals. Thirty-four variable positions defined 21 distinct haplotypes with a maximum sequence divergence of 0.88%. No significant differentiation in the cytochrome b gene between Western and Eastern Karyotypic groups was found. Haplotype diversity estimates within the races and groups sampled were high (h = 0.800-0.928), while nucleotide diversity estimates were low (pi = 0.0034-0.0053). The distribution of pairwise nucleotide differences fits well with expectations of a "sudden expansion" model. High haplotype diversity was accompanied by relatively high expected heterozygosity (H(E)) values in nuclear genes (calculated over 47 enzyme loci: H(E) = 0.031 - 0.049), giving no evidence for a recent bottleneck after the process of post-Pleistocene recolonization of Poland by the shrews. Thus, for S. araneus chromosome races in Poland, the data on the cytochrome b gene variability support the hypothesis assuming the Robertsonian fusions having spread into an ancestral acrocentric distribution.