Research Article

Population genetic structure and historical demography of the ground beetle Chlaenius costiger in the Tsinling-Dabashan Mountains of central China

Published: April 17, 2015
Genet. Mol. Res. 14 (2) : 3579-3589 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4238/2015.April.17.7
Cite this Article:
L.N. Su, X.C. Li, H.Z. Meng, X.Y. Gao, H. Yin, K. Li (2015). Population genetic structure and historical demography of the ground beetle Chlaenius costiger in the Tsinling-Dabashan Mountains of central China. Genet. Mol. Res. 14(2): 3579-3589. https://doi.org/10.4238/2015.April.17.7
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Abstract

Population genetic structure and demographic history of the ground beetle Chlaenius costiger (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in the Tsinling-Dabashan Mountains of central China were estimated using mitochondrial DNA sequences (Cox1-tRNALeu-Cox2) of 144 individuals from 16 local populations. The high haplotype diversity was accompanied by low nucleotide diversity. Phylogenetic analysis (Bayesian inference) of the 43 haplotypes revealed no phylogeographic structure. Analysis of molecular variance suggested that most of the variation was attributed to within population variation (79.26%). Mantel test results showed a significant correlation between the genetic distance and geographical distance of the populations with a correlation coefficient equal to 0.216964 (P = 0.0471 < 0.05), indicating the presence of isolation by distance. Spatial AMOVA and PERMUT analyses showed no phylogeographic structure. Gene flow calculated through the number of migrants was high between many pairs of populations. The results of a neutrality test, mismatch distribution analyses, and Bayesian skyline plot analysis together showed a demographic expansion. The estimated expansion time of the whole sampled population was 0.125 million years. The complex topography in the Tsinling-Dabashan Mountains area led to the high level of genetic diversity, and migratory flight resulted in the high level of gene flow, leading to the lack of a phylogeographic structure.

Population genetic structure and demographic history of the ground beetle Chlaenius costiger (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in the Tsinling-Dabashan Mountains of central China were estimated using mitochondrial DNA sequences (Cox1-tRNALeu-Cox2) of 144 individuals from 16 local populations. The high haplotype diversity was accompanied by low nucleotide diversity. Phylogenetic analysis (Bayesian inference) of the 43 haplotypes revealed no phylogeographic structure. Analysis of molecular variance suggested that most of the variation was attributed to within population variation (79.26%). Mantel test results showed a significant correlation between the genetic distance and geographical distance of the populations with a correlation coefficient equal to 0.216964 (P = 0.0471