Premium
Mitochondrial DNA variation along an altitudinal gradient in the greater white‐toothed shrew, Crocidura russula
Author(s) -
Ehinger M.,
Fontanillas P.,
Petit E.,
Perrin N.
Publication year - 2002
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.2002.01487.x
Subject(s) - biology , shrew , mitochondrial dna , biological dispersal , haplotype , mtdna control region , evolutionary biology , zoology , altitude (triangle) , ecology , genetics , population , gene , allele , demography , geometry , mathematics , sociology
The distribution of mitochondrial control region‐sequence polymorphism was investigated in 15 populations of Crocidura russula along an altitudinal gradient in western Switzerland. High‐altitude populations are smaller, sparser and appear to undergo frequent bottlenecks. Accordingly, they showed a loss of rare haplotypes, but unexpectedly, were less differentiated than lowland populations. Furthermore, the major haplotypes segregated significantly with altitude. The results were inconsistent with a simple model of drift and dispersal. They suggested instead a role for historical patterns of colonization, or, alternatively, present‐day selective forces acting on one of the mitochondrial genes involved in metabolic pathways.