Phylogeography and postglacial dispersion of the chub (Leuciscus cephalus) in Europe.
A phylogeographic analysis of mitochondrial DNA variation was performed in order to test the hypothesis of a postglacial recolonization of mid- and north-European rivers from a Danubian refuge. Over 345 chub specimens from European rivers covering most of the species' native range were investigated using 600 bp of the cytochrome b gene. Chub in European rivers belong to four highly divergent mitochondrial groups (lineages) differing by mean divergence estimates from 5.2% to 7.89%. These four lineages have a largely allopatric distribution, implying four geographical sets: two Mediterranean, and two north-European sets. This pattern provided strong evidence for: (i) the eradication of this species from most of Europe during maximum ice extent; (ii) its survival in four refugia (Adriatic side of the Balkans, eastern Greece (Aegean Rivers), southern tributaries of the Danube, and periphery of Black and Caspian Seas); (iii) a differential postglacial recolonization of mid- and northern Europe from the last two refugia only; (iv) the occurrence of this recolonization in two steps for the Danubian (western) lineage that entered western Europe (Rhine-Rhone-Loire drainages) during the Riss-Würm interglacial period and survived the last glaciation there before colonizing Garonne, UK and German drainages up to the Elbe during the Holocene; and (v) the occurrence of this recolonization in a single step for the Ponto-Caspian (eastern) lineage that entered the Baltic area as far as the Oder in the Holocene. Both lineages came into contact in the River Elbe without evident mixing.
Durand
J D
JD
CNRS-ESA 5023 Ecologie des Eaux Douces et des Grands Fleuves, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France. jddurand@cismsun.univ-lyon1.fr
Persat
H
H
Bouvet
Y
Y
D000818:Animals; D003530:Cyprinidae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D003573:Cytochrome b Group / Q000235:genetics*; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D005060:Europe; D005618:Fresh Water; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005843:Geography; D006239:Haplotypes; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
D003573:Cytochrome b Group; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial