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Evolutionary history of the land snail Helix aspersa in the Western Mediterranean: preliminary results inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequences
Author(s) -
Guiller A.,
CoutellecVreto M. A.,
Madec L.,
Deunff J.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
molecular ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.619
H-Index - 225
eISSN - 1365-294X
pISSN - 0962-1083
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-294x.2001.01145.x
Subject(s) - biology , vicariance , phylogeography , subspecies , biological dispersal , lineage (genetic) , mitochondrial dna , phylogenetic tree , range (aeronautics) , molecular clock , ecology , zoology , phylogenetics , evolutionary biology , population , genetics , gene , demography , materials science , sociology , composite material
Intraspecific phylogeographic methods provide a means of examining the history of genetic exchange among populations. As part of a study of the history of Helix aspersa in the Western Mediterranean, we performed a phylogenetic analysis based on partial sequences of the mitochondrial large ribosomal subunit (16S) gene. Our samples include 31 H. a. aspersa populations from North Africa previously investigated for anatomical and biochemical characters. To clarify subspecific relationships, three individuals of the subspecies H. a. maxima were also studied. The molecular phylogeny inferred agrees largely with previous results, in splitting H. a. aspersa haplotypes into an eastern and a western group. H. a. maxima haplotypes form a third lineage arising before the H. a. aspersa groups. Divergence times estimated between the lineages suggest that dispersal during Pleistocene glaciation and vicariance events due to Pliocene geological changes in the western Mediterranean may both have played a significant part in the establishment of the present range of H. aspersa .