title: Molecular phylogenetics and phylogeographic structure of Sorex bedfordiae based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences.
abstract: The southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau is characterized by complex topography and a discontinuous landscape, creating a sky island situation. However, the way topography shapes genetic structures and demographic histories of endemic species has not been well studied. We examined the phylogeographic pattern and demographic histories of Sorex bedfordiae, a dispersal-limited small mammal, using three nuclear genes [1977bp] and two mitochondrial genes [1794bp] with comprehensive molecular approaches. We recovered five well-supported clades whose distributions are along mountain ridges and roughly subdivided by large rivers. Demographic expansions in the middle Pleistocene were strongly supported by both nuclear and mitochondrial genes. Our results support the hypothesis that sky island topography and river systems strongly affect the genetic structure of non-aquatic terrestrial species. We further clarify that S. bedfordiae and S. cylindricauda are valid sibling species, whereas S. excelsus is most likely a geographic subspecies of S. bedfordiae.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Bio-Resources and Eco-Environment, Ministry of Education, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China; College of Life Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610066, China; Mammal Ecology and Evolution Research Group, State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China.
authors.forename: Shunde
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Sichuan Academy of Forestry, Chengdu 610081, China.
authors.forename: Zhiyu
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Mammal Ecology and Evolution Research Group, State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Mammal Ecology and Evolution Research Group, State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China.
authors.forename: Xuelong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Sichuan Academy of Forestry, Chengdu 610081, China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Mammal Ecology and Evolution Research Group, State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China.
authors.forename: Narayan Prasad
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Koju
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Bio-Resources and Eco-Environment, Ministry of Education, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China.
authors.forename: Xiuyue
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Bio-Resources and Eco-Environment, Ministry of Education, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China.
authors.forename: Feiyun
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Bio-Resources and Eco-Environment, Ministry of Education, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China.
authors.forename: Zhenxing
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Sichuan Academy of Forestry, Chengdu 610081, China. Electronic address: Shaoyliu@163.com.
authors.forename: Shaoying
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Bio-Resources and Eco-Environment, Ministry of Education, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China. Electronic address: bsyue@scu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Bisong
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yue
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000235:genetics; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D007312:Eulipotyphla / Q000145:classification*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005843:Geography; D006239:Haplotypes; D008957:Models, Genetic; D010802:Phylogeny; D058974:Phylogeography; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D018609:Tibet
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial
keywords: Mitochondrial DNA; Nuclear DNA; Phylogeography; Sky islands; Sorex bedfordiae; Southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau