title: The evolutionary history of the two karyotypic groups of the common shrew, Sorex araneus, in Poland.
abstract: Genetic variability within and among two karyotypic groups and five chromosome races of the common shrew (Sorex araneus) in Poland was assayed by sequencing a 1023 bp part of the cytochrome b gene (mtDNA) from 28 individuals. Thirty-four variable positions defined 21 distinct haplotypes with a maximum sequence divergence of 0.88%. No significant differentiation in the cytochrome b gene between Western and Eastern Karyotypic groups was found. Haplotype diversity estimates within the races and groups sampled were high (h = 0.800-0.928), while nucleotide diversity estimates were low (pi = 0.0034-0.0053). The distribution of pairwise nucleotide differences fits well with expectations of a "sudden expansion" model. High haplotype diversity was accompanied by relatively high expected heterozygosity (H(E)) values in nuclear genes (calculated over 47 enzyme loci: H(E) = 0.031 - 0.049), giving no evidence for a recent bottleneck after the process of post-Pleistocene recolonization of Poland by the shrews. Thus, for S. araneus chromosome races in Poland, the data on the cytochrome b gene variability support the hypothesis assuming the Robertsonian fusions having spread into an ancestral acrocentric distribution.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biology, University of Białystok, Swierkowa 20 B, 15-950 Białystok, Poland. ermi@cksr.ac.bialystok.pl
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ratkiewicz
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fedyk
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Banaszek
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gielly
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chetnicki
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jadwiszczak
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Taberlet
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002875:Chromosomes / Q000235:genetics*; D003573:Cytochrome b Group / Q000235:genetics*; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005828:Genetics, Population; D006239:Haplotypes; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000235:genetics*; D007621:Karyotyping; D008297:Male; D011044:Poland; D012788:Shrews / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D003573:Cytochrome b Group; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D007527:Isoenzymes