We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Riverine barrier effects on population genetic structure of the Hanuman langur (Semnopithecus entellus) in the Nepal Himalaya.
- Authors
Khanal, Laxman; Chalise, Mukesh Kumar; Wan, Tao; Jiang, Xuelong
- Abstract
Background: Past climatological events and contemporary geophysical barriers shape the distribution, population genetic structure, and evolutionary history of many organisms. The Himalayan region, frequently referred to as the third pole of the Earth, has experienced large-scale climatic oscillations in the past and bears unique geographic, topographic, and climatic areas. The influences of the Pleistocene climatic fluctuations and present-day geographical barriers such as rivers in shaping the demographic history and population genetic structure of organisms in the Nepal Himalaya have not yet been documented. Hence, we examined the effects of late-Quaternary glacial-interglacial cycles and riverine barriers on the genetic composition of Hanuman langurs (Semnopithecus entellus), a colobine primate with a wide range of altitudinal distribution across the Nepalese Himalaya, using the mitochondrial DNA control region (CR, 1090 bp) and cytochrome B (CYTB, 1140 bp) sequences combined with paleodistribution modeling. Results: DNA sequences were successfully retrieved from 67 non-invasively collected fecal samples belonging to 18 wild Hanuman langur troops covering the entire distribution range of the species in Nepal. We identified 37 haplotypes from the concatenated CR + CYTB (2230 bp) sequences, with haplotype and nucleotide diversities of 0.958 ± 0.015 and 0.0237 ± 0.0008, respectively. The troops were clustered into six major clades corresponding to their river-isolated spatial distribution, with the significantly high genetic variation among these clades confirming the barrier effects of the snow-fed Himalayan rivers on genetic structuring. Analysis of demographic history projected a decrease in population size with the onset of the last glacial maximum (LGM); and, in accordance with the molecular analyses, paleodistribution modeling revealed a range shift in its suitable habitat downward/southward during the LGM. The complex genetic structure among the populations of central Nepal, and the stable optimal habitat through the last interglacial period to the present suggest that the central mid-hills of Nepal served as glacial refugia for the Hanuman langur. Conclusions: Hanuman langurs of the Nepal Himalaya region exhibit high genetic diversity, with their population genetic structure is strongly shaped by riverine barrier effects beyond isolation by distance; hence, this species demands detailed future phylogenetic study.
- Subjects
ANIMAL population genetics; SEMNOPITHECUS entellus; GEOPHYSICS; PLEISTOCENE Epoch; PRIMATES
- Publication
BMC Evolutionary Biology, 2018, Vol 18, Issue 1, pN.PAG
- ISSN
1471-2148
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1186/s12862-018-1280-4