Whole-genome Analysis Reveals Contrasting Relationships Among Nuclear and Mitochondrial Genomes Between Three Sympatric Bat Species
Laine V.N. Sävilammi T. Wahlberg N. Meramo K. Ossa G. Johnson J.S. Blomberg A.S. Yeszhanov A.B. Yung V. Paterson S. Lilley T.M.
1 January 2023Oxford University Press
Genome Biology and Evolution
2023#15Issue 1
Understanding mechanisms involved in speciation can be challenging, especially when hybridization or introgression blurs species boundaries. In bats, resolving relationships of some closely related groups has proved difficult due subtle interspecific variation both in morphometrics and molecular data sets. The endemic South American Histiotus bats, currently considered a subgenus of Eptesicus, harbor unresolved phylogenetic relationships and of those is a trio consisting of two closely related species: Eptesicus (Histiotus) macrotus and Eptesicus (Histiotus) montanus, and their relationship with a third, Eptesicus (Histiotus) magellanicus. The three sympatric species bear marked resemblance to each other, but can be differentiated morphologically. Furthermore, previous studies have been unable to differentiate the species from each other at a molecular level. In order to disentangle the phylogenetic relationships of these species, we examined the differentiation patterns and evolutionary history of the three Eptesicus (H.) species at the whole-genome level. The nuclear DNA statistics between the species suggest strong gene flow and recent hybridization between E. (H.) montanus and E. (H.) macrotus, whereas E. (H.) magellanicus shows a higher degree of isolation. In contrast, mitochondrial DNA shows a closer relationship between E. (H.) magellanicus and E. (H.) montanus. Opposing patterns in mtDNA and nuclear markers are often due to differences in dispersal, and here it could be both as a result of isolation in refugia during the last glacial maximum and female philopatry and male-biased dispersal. In conclusion, this study shows the importance of both the nuclear and mitochondrial DNA in resolving phylogenetic relationships and species histories.
bats , gene flow , mitochondrial DNA , nuclear DNA , phylogeny , speciation
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BatLab Finland, Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
ConserBat EIRL, San Fabian, Chile
Asociación Murciélagos de Chile Pinüike, Santiago, Chile
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, United States
Institute of Zoology, the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Departamento Laboratorio Biomédico, Instituto de Salud Pública de Chile, Santiago, Chile
Evolution, Ecology and Behaviour, Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
BatLab Finland
Department of Biology
Department of Biological and Environmental Science
Department of Biology
ConserBat EIRL
Asociación Murciélagos de Chile Pinüike
Department of Biological Sciences
Institute of Zoology
Departamento Laboratorio Biomédico
Evolution
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