title: Mitochondrial genome sequences effectively reveal the phylogeny of Hylobates gibbons.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Uniquely among hominoids, gibbons exist as multiple geographically contiguous taxa exhibiting distinctive behavioral, morphological, and karyotypic characteristics. However, our understanding of the evolutionary relationships of the various gibbons, especially among Hylobates species, is still limited because previous studies used limited taxon sampling or short mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences. Here we use mtDNA genome sequences to reconstruct gibbon phylogenetic relationships and reveal the pattern and timing of divergence events in gibbon evolutionary history.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We sequenced the mitochondrial genomes of 51 individuals representing 11 species belonging to three genera (Hylobates, Nomascus and Symphalangus) using the high-throughput 454 sequencing system with the parallel tagged sequencing approach. Three phylogenetic analyses (maximum likelihood, Bayesian analysis and neighbor-joining) depicted the gibbon phylogenetic relationships congruently and with strong support values. Most notably, we recover a well-supported phylogeny of the Hylobates gibbons. The estimation of divergence times using Bayesian analysis with relaxed clock model suggests a much more rapid speciation process in Hylobates than in Nomascus.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Use of more than 15 kb sequences of the mitochondrial genome provided more informative and robust data than previous studies of short mitochondrial segments (e.g., control region or cytochrome b) as shown by the reliable reconstruction of divergence patterns among Hylobates gibbons. Moreover, molecular dating of the mitogenomic divergence times implied that biogeographic change during the last five million years may be a factor promoting the speciation of Sundaland animals, including Hylobates species.
authors.affiliation: Department of Primatology, Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany. yichiao_chan@eva.mpg.de
authors.forename: Yi-Chiao
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Roos
authors.forename: Miho
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Inoue-Murayama
authors.forename: Eiji
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.forename: Chih-Chin
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Shih
authors.forename: Kurtis Jai-Chyi
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Pei
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vigilant
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D002138:Calibration; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005580:Fossils; D054629:Genome, Mitochondrial; D005843:Geography; D006922:Hylobates / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*; D007621:Karyotyping; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial