Pleistocene survival on central Alpine nunataks: genetic evidence from the jumping bristletail Machilis pallida.
Summary of "Pleistocene survival on central Alpine nunataks: genetic evidence from the jumping bristletail Machilis pallida."
Mechanisms of survival during the Pleistocene glaciation periods have been studied for more than a century. Until now, molecular studies that confirmed animal survival on Alpine nunataks, that is, ice-free summits surrounded by glaciers, were restricted to peripheral areas. Here, we search for molecular signatures of inner-Alpine survival of the narrow endemic and putatively parthenogenetic Alpine jumping bristletail Machilis pallida combining mitochondrial and AFLP data from its three known populations. The mitochondrial data indicate survival on both peripheral and central nunataks, the latter suggesting that refugia in the centre of the Alpine main ridge were more widespread than previously recognized. Incongruences between mitochondrial and AFLP patterns suggest a complex evolutionary history of the species and may be explained via parallel fixation of parthenogenesis of different origins during the last glacial maximum. We suggest that the inferred parthenogenesis may have been essential for central nunatak survival, but may pose a serious threat for M. pallida in consideration of the present climatic changes.
Affiliation
Molecular Ecology Group, Institute of Ecology, University of Innsbruck, Technikerstr. 25, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria.
Journal Details
This article was published in the following journal.
Name: Molecular ecology
ISSN: 1365-294X
Pages:
Links
- PubMed Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22994297
- DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2012.05758.x
Medical and Biotech [MESH] Definitions
Recombination, Genetic
Production of new arrangements of DNA by various mechanisms such as assortment and segregation, CROSSING OVER; GENE CONVERSION; GENETIC TRANSFORMATION; GENETIC CONJUGATION; GENETIC TRANSDUCTION; or mixed infection of viruses.
Graft Survival
The survival of a graft in a host, the factors responsible for the survival and the changes occurring within the graft during growth in the host.
Prejudice
A preconceived judgment made without adequate evidence and not easily alterable by presentation of contrary evidence.
Survival
Continuance of life or existence especially under adverse conditions; includes methods and philosophy of survival.
Survival Analysis
A class of statistical procedures for estimating the survival function (function of time, starting with a population 100% well at a given time and providing the percentage of the population still well at later times). The survival analysis is then used for making inferences about the effects of treatments, prognostic factors, exposures, and other covariates on the function.
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