title: European wildcat populations are subdivided into five main biogeographic groups: consequences of Pleistocene climate changes or recent anthropogenic fragmentation?
abstract: Extant populations of the European wildcat are fragmented across the continent, the likely consequence of recent extirpations due to habitat loss and over-hunting. However, their underlying phylogeographic history has never been reconstructed. For testing the hypothesis that the European wildcat survived the Ice Age fragmented in Mediterranean refuges, we assayed the genetic variation at 31 microsatellites in 668 presumptive European wildcats sampled in 15 European countries. Moreover, to evaluate the extent of subspecies/population divergence and identify eventual wild × domestic cat hybrids, we genotyped 26 African wildcats from Sardinia and North Africa and 294 random-bred domestic cats. Results of multivariate analyses and Bayesian clustering confirmed that the European wild and the domestic cats (plus the African wildcats) belong to two well-differentiated clusters (average Ф ST = 0.159, r st = 0.392, P > 0.001; Analysis of molecular variance [AMOVA]). We identified from c. 5% to 10% cryptic hybrids in southern and central European populations. In contrast, wild-living cats in Hungary and Scotland showed deep signatures of genetic admixture and introgression with domestic cats. The European wildcats are subdivided into five main genetic clusters (average Ф ST = 0.103, r st = 0.143, P > 0.001; AMOVA) corresponding to five biogeographic groups, respectively, distributed in the Iberian Peninsula, central Europe, central Germany, Italian Peninsula and the island of Sicily, and in north-eastern Italy and northern Balkan regions (Dinaric Alps). Approximate Bayesian Computation simulations supported late Pleistocene-early Holocene population splittings (from c. 60 k to 10 k years ago), contemporary to the last Ice Age climatic changes. These results provide evidences for wildcat Mediterranean refuges in southwestern Europe, but the evolution history of eastern wildcat populations remains to be clarified. Historical genetic subdivisions suggest conservation strategies aimed at enhancing gene flow through the restoration of ecological corridors within each biogeographic units. Concomitantly, the risk of hybridization with free-ranging domestic cats along corridor edges should be carefully monitored.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio di Genetica Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale (ISPRA) 40064 Ozzano dell'Emilia Bologna Italy.
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mattucci
authors.affiliation: InBio - Laboratório Associado Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos (CIBIO) Universidade do Porto Campus de Vairão 4485-661 Vairão Portugal; Departamento de Biologia Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto 4099-002 Porto Portugal.
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine & Surgery College of Veterinary Medicine University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia 65211 Missouri USA.
authors.forename: Leslie A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Lyons
authors.affiliation: InBio - Laboratório Associado Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos (CIBIO) Universidade do Porto Campus de Vairão 4485-661 Vairão Portugal; Departamento de Biologia Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto 4099-002 Porto Portugal; Wildlife Biology Program Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences University of Montana Missoula 59812 Montana USA.
authors.forename: Paulo C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Alves
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio di Genetica Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale (ISPRA) 40064 Ozzano dell'Emilia BolognaItaly; Department 18/Section of Environmental Engineering Aalborg University 9000 Aalborg Denmark.
authors.forename: Ettore
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Randi
keywords: ABC simulations; Bayesian clustering; Felis silvestris; conservation genetics; microsatellites; phylogeography; population structure; wild and domestic cat hybridization
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