engleski

Phylogeography of the Balkan species of the genus Podarcis (Reptilia: Lacertidae)

Based on DNA sequence variation of the cytochrome b and/or 12S and 16S rRNA mitochondrial genes, phylogeographic analysis of five Balkan Podarcis species: P. melisellensis, P. sicula, P. taurica, P. erhardii and P. peloponnesiaca was performed. All investigated species are highly structured. Their phylogeographic patterns are interpreted as the consequence of natural events like retreats to glacial refugia and postglacial area expansions, but also as the results of multiple introductions by man. Revealed intraspecific phylogenetic relationships are mostly in a sharp contrast to the actual taxonomic division into subspecies. Nuclear mitochondrial sequence (numt) recovered from P. sicula is homologous to a section of the mt genome spanning from the atp8 gene to the tRNA-pro gene. Phylogenetic analyses suggest that this sequence originated in the P. muralis 1-1.5 million years ago. The complete mt DNA sequences for P. sicula, P. muralis and Lacerta kulzeri were determined. They exhibit typical vertebrate mitochondrial gene content and arrangement.

mitochondrial DNA; numt; phylogeography; Podarcis

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