Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Mitogenome Phylogeny Including Data from Additional Subspecies Provides New Insights into the Historical Biogeography of the Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx

Deniz Mengüllüoğlu
* ORCID logo ,
Hüseyin Ambarlı
ORCID logo ,
Axel Barlow
ORCID logo ,
Johanna L. A. Paijmans
ORCID logo ,
Ali Onur Sayar
ORCID logo ,
Hasan Emir
,
Irfan Kandemir
,
Heribert Hofer
ORCID logo ,
Jörns Fickel
,
Daniel Förster
Version 1 : Received: 1 July 2021 / Approved: 2 July 2021 / Online: 2 July 2021 (09:27:04 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Mengüllüoğlu, D.; Ambarlı, H.; Barlow, A.; Paijmans, J.L.A.; Sayar, A.O.; Emir, H.; Kandemir, İ.; Hofer, H.; Fickel, J.; Förster, D.W. Mitogenome Phylogeny Including Data from Additional Subspecies Provides New Insights into the Historical Biogeography of the Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx. Genes 2021, 12, 1216. Mengüllüoğlu, D.; Ambarlı, H.; Barlow, A.; Paijmans, J.L.A.; Sayar, A.O.; Emir, H.; Kandemir, İ.; Hofer, H.; Fickel, J.; Förster, D.W. Mitogenome Phylogeny Including Data from Additional Subspecies Provides New Insights into the Historical Biogeography of the Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx. Genes 2021, 12, 1216.

Abstract

Phylogenetic and phylogeographic assessments of species should ideally include individuals of all known populations. However, this is difficult for species with large distribution areas. Previous molecular studies of the wide-ranging Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx focused mainly on its northern Palearctic populations, with the consequence that the reconstruction of this species’ evolutionary history did not include genetic variation present in its southern Palearctic distribution. We sampled a previously not considered Asian subspecies (L. l. dinniki), added published data from another Asian subspecies (L. l. isabellinus), and reassessed the Eurasian lynx mtDNA phylogeny along with previously published data from northern Palearctic populations. Our mitogenome-based analyses revealed that the subspecies L. l. isabellinus harbours the most basal matriline, consistent with the origin of Lynx lynx in this subspecies’ current range. L. l. dinniki harbours the second-most basal matriline, which is related to, and may be the source of, the mtDNA diversity of the critically endangered Balkan lynx L. l. balcanicus. Our results suggest that the Anatolian peninsula was a glacial refugium for Eurasian lynx, with previously unconsidered implications for the colonization of Europe by this species. Genetic variation present in southern Palearctic populations of Lynx lynx is clearly important for elucidating the evolutionary history of this species.

Keywords

mitogenome; biogeography; intraspecific variation; Caucasian lynx; Balkan lynx; Himalayan lynx; Anatolian refugium

Subject

Biology and Life Sciences, Anatomy and Physiology

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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