Genetic diversity and phylogeography of Siberian roe deer, Caproulus pygargus, in central and peripheral populations

Abstract

Current understanding of phylogeographical structure and genetic diversity of Siberian roe deer remains limited mainly due to small sample size and/or low geographical coverage in previous studies. Published data suggest at least two phylogroups: western (Ural Mountains and Western Siberia) and eastern (east from lake Baikal, including the Korean peninsula), but their phylogenetic relationship remains unclear. Combined sequences of cytochrome b (1140 bp) and the mtDNA control region (963 bp) were analyzed from 219 Siberian roe deer from 12 locations in Russia, Mongolia, and South Korea, which cover a large part of its range, to assess genetic diversity and phylogeographical status. Special emphasis was placed on the demographic history and genetic features of central, peripheral, and isolated populations. Results of median‐joining network and phylogenetic tree analyses indicate that Siberian roe deer from the Urals to the Pacific Ocean are genetically diverse and that geographical distribution and composition of haplogroups coincide with previously described ranges of the subspecies Capreolus pygargus pygargus and Capreolus pygargus tianschanicus. We found that peripheral populations in the northwestern parts of the species range (Urals), as well as the isolated population from Jeju Island, are genetically distinct from those in the core part of the range, both in terms of genetic diversity and quantitative composition of haplogroups. We also found that northwestern (Urals) and northern (Yakutia) peripheral populations share the same haplogroup and fall into the same phylogenetic clade with the isolated population from Jeju Island. This finding sheds light on the taxonomic status of the Jeju Island population and leads to hypotheses about the discordance of morphological and genetic evolution in isolated populations and specific genetic features of peripheral populations.

MInOSSE: A new method to reconstruct geographic ranges of fossil species

“…There has been much debate about the phylogenetic and taxonomic position of this species. Once considered a single species covering most of the Eurasia, it is now widely accepted that roe deer is divided into two allopatric species: the European roe deer C. capreolus, distributed over most of Europe and a few Mediterranean islands, and the Siberian roe deer C. pygargus, ranging from the Eastern Europe to the continental Asia (Lee et al, 2016). The two species are geographically separated by the physical barrier of the Urals.…”

Various branching patterns of the aortic arch in the Siberian roe deer (<i>Capreolus pygargus</i>, Pallas, 1771) on Jeju Island

“…In the Republic of Korea, the Siberian roe deer lives on the Korean peninsula and Jeju Island, and is considered a subspecies of Siberian roe deer, Capreolus pygargus tianschanicus Satunin, 1906 [5] or Capreolus pygargus bedifordi Thomas, 1908 [9]. However, several recent genetic and morphological studies have suggested that the roe deer on Jeju Island (Jeju roe deer [JRD]) is different from the roe deer on the Korean peninsula (mainland roe deer [MRD]) [13, 15, 16, 19,20,21]. The JRD has a smaller body and skull than the MRD [19,20,21] and is genetically more similar to populations in western Siberia than those in the Far East [13, 15, 16].…”

“…However, several recent genetic and morphological studies have suggested that the roe deer on Jeju Island (Jeju roe deer [JRD]) is different from the roe deer on the Korean peninsula (mainland roe deer [MRD]) [13, 15, 16, 19,20,21]. The JRD has a smaller body and skull than the MRD [19,20,21] and is genetically more similar to populations in western Siberia than those in the Far East [13, 15, 16]. Therefore, the possibility that the JRD belongs to the subspecies Capreolus pygargus ochracean , not C. p. tianschanicus , has been suggested [13].…”

“…Moreover, compared with three other subspecies of Siberian roe deer, the JRD clustered with Capreolus pygargus melanotis , whereas the MRD was ranked third in skull size and grouped with Capreolus pygargus tianschanicus [19]. Genetic differences have revealed that the JRD differs from the MRD in the sequence of mitochondrial cytochrome b and the mitochondrial DNA control region, and is similar to northwestern and northern populations of the Siberian roe deer, Capreolus pygargus pygargus [13, 15, 20]. Furthermore, JRD clustered as a new isolated population [13, 15, 16, 20], for which a new subspecies name, Capreolus pygargus jejuensis , has been proposed [19, 21].…”

“…Genetic differences have revealed that the JRD differs from the MRD in the sequence of mitochondrial cytochrome b and the mitochondrial DNA control region, and is similar to northwestern and northern populations of the Siberian roe deer, Capreolus pygargus pygargus [13, 15, 20]. Furthermore, JRD clustered as a new isolated population [13, 15, 16, 20], for which a new subspecies name, Capreolus pygargus jejuensis , has been proposed [19, 21]. In this context, differences in anatomical structure between the two populations are feasible.…”