INVESTIGADORES
CUTRERA Ana paula
artículos
Título:
Phylogeography and population genetic structure of the Talas's tuco-tuco (Ctenomys talarum): integrating demographic and habitat histories
Autor/es:
MATIAS MORA; ANA PAULA CUTRERA; ENRIQUE LESSA; ALDO VASSALLO; ALEJANDRO D'ANATRO; FERNANDO MAPELLI
Revista:
JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY
Editorial:
ALLIANCE COMMUNICATIONS GROUP DIVISION ALLEN PRESS
Referencias:
Lugar: Lawrence; Año: 2013 vol. 94 p. 459 - 476
ISSN:
0022-2372
Resumen:
We examined the phylogeography of the South American subterranean rodent Ctenomys talarum(Talas?s tuco-tucos) using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region (D-loop) sequences. This species is an herbivorous rodent endemic to the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, that lives in natural grasslands in coastal sand dune habitats and in some fragmented inland populations. In this study, we 1) assessed the genetic relationship among populations of C. talarum across the entire distributional range of this species and 2) analyzed how the geological history of the habitat has affected the genetic structure and demographic history of these populations. A complex network of haplotypes in conjunction with the AMOVA results showed high genetic subdivision and a strong phylogeographic pattern among populations of C. talarum. Pairwise FST values showed significant differentiation among all populations studied. The overall pattern was similar to that expected under the isolation-by-distance model, suggesting equilibrium between gene flow and local genetic drift. Major geographic barriers (e.g. rivers and unsuitable habitat) in the area, in conjunction with population isolation, appeared to be associated with strong genetic differentiation among the different geographical groups. Local mismatch distributions and tests of neutrality suggest contrasting histories for different groups of populations; while some populations appeared to be characterized by demographic stability and no significant departures from neutrality, others showed departures from strict neutrality consistent with a recent demographic expansion. Finally, a close association seems to exist between the major climatic changes that occurred during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene in the central region of Argentina and the main historical demographic changes inferred from C. talarum. Current populations of C. talarum appear to be relicts of a more extended historical distribution along the Argentinean pampas. These historical extinctions, however, have not erased the signature of long-term stability and geographic structure of this species along the coastal and inland distribution ranges.