Phylogenetic history of mustelid fauna in Taiwan inferred from mitochondrial genetic loci

Author： Hosoda T. Sato J.J. Lin L.-K. Chen Y.-J. Harada M. Suzuki H.

ISSN： 1480-3283

Source： Canadian Journal of Zoology, Vol.89, Iss.6, 2011-06, pp. : 559-569

Disclaimer: Any content in publications that violate the sovereignty, the constitution or regulations of the PRC is not accepted or approved by CNPIEC.

Previous Menu Next

Abstract

Phylogenetic relationships among species of the family Mustelidae were examined using the combined nucleotide sequences of the three mitochondrial genetic loci (cytochrome b (MT-CYB; 1140 bp), NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 (MT-ND2; 1044 bp), and displacement loop (MT-DLOOP; 540 bp)), with special emphasis on the phylogenetic history of four Taiwanese mustelid species: Martes flavigula (Boddaert, 1785), Melogale moschata (Gray, 1831), Mustela nivalis L., 1766, and Mustela sibirica Pallas, 1773. Maximum likelihood phylogenetic analysis of the combined sequences of the mitochondrial genetic loci produced a topology largely congruent with that of previous studies at the species level. Analyses of intraspecific genetic variations revealed two Melogale moschata individuals from Taiwan and Vietnam that showed genetic distances comparable with interspecific variations within the mustelid lineages. Furthermore, Mustela nivalis, recently discovered in Taiwan, was not as genetically differentiated from other continental conspecific individuals as a previous morphological survey suggested. Divergence time estimations for the mustelid lineages of Taiwan and the Eurasian continent by the Bayesian relaxed molecular clock approach suggested multiple colonization of Taiwan by mustelids from the continent during the Pleistocene, creating a hierarchical pattern of endemism based on the differential isolation history of the mustelid species in Taiwan.