scholarly journals Reappraisal of the sub species hypothesis for Gangetic dolphins based on mitochondrial genomics

Author(s):  
Chandrakant Jadhav ◽  
Gulab Khedkar ◽  
CD Khedkar ◽  
Bharathi Prakash ◽  
Sanil Pillai

Abstract The Gangetic dolphin, P. gangetica, is one of the oldest known creatures, and its taxonomic status has been debated for over two centuries with no agreement. The clarification of the systematic relationships of Platanista taxa has been listed as among the highest priority for all cetaceans. Of the several taxonomic schemes proposed, all have been very limited and do not provide sufficient weight of evidence to defend any taxonomic classification. Consequently, to resolve this case, a new mitochondrial genome record for P. gangetica gangetica was created for quantitative evaluation of the Ganges and Indus River dolphin populations to estimate species boundaries. This has aided in the resolution of the taxonomic status of the Gangetic dolphin, P. gangetica by showing that the subspecies P. gangetica gangetica and P. gangetica minor are indistinguishable based on the molecular differences and do not follow the standards for molecular species boundaries. Also geographic historical reviews show that these two populations were one during the Miocene era, and that segregation occurred during the geosyncline effect of the Bay of Bengal. However, with the present set of evidences, we propose to abandon the subspecies hypothesis for these P. gangetica taxa.

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 439-440 ◽  
Author(s):  
Punhal Lashari ◽  
Muhammad Younis Laghari ◽  
Peng Xu ◽  
Zixia Zhao ◽  
Li Jiang ◽  
...  

Zootaxa ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 4363 (4) ◽  
pp. 506
Author(s):  
HUAXUAN LIU ◽  
LIYUN YAN ◽  
GUOFANG JIANG

In this study, we reported the complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of Sinopodisma pieli by polymerase chain reaction method for the first time, the type species of the genus Sinopodisma. Its mitogenome was a circular DNA molecule of 15,625 bp in length, with 76.0% A+T, and contained 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA genes and two ribosomal RNA genes and one A+T control region. The overall base composition of the S. pieli mitogenome was 42.8% for A, 33.2% for T, 13.5% for C, and 10.5% for G, respectively. All 13 mitochondrial PCGs shared the start codon ATN. Twelve of the PCGs ended with termination codon TAA and TAG, while cytochrome coxidase subunit 1 (COI) utilized an incomplete T as terminator codon. All tRNA genes could be folded into the typical cloverleaf secondary structure, except trnS(AGN) lacking of dihydrouridine arm. The sizes of the large and small ribosomal RNA genes were 1379 bp and 794 bp, respectively. The A+T rich region was 798 bp in length and contained 88.5% AT content. A phylogenetic analysis based on 13 PCGs by using Bayesian inference (BI) and maximum likelihood (ML) revealed that Sinopodisma is not monophyletic group. We think that the name and taxonomic status of S. tsinlingensis are right, and it should not be moved into the genus Pedopodisma. These data will provide important information for a better understanding of the population genetics and species identification for Sinopodisma. 


1986 ◽  
Vol 64 (12) ◽  
pp. 2948-2954 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. E. Ramirez ◽  
D. G. Müller ◽  
A. F. Peters

Two populations of broad-bladed (ligulate) Desmarestia from central and southern Chile were studied in laboratory cultures. They differ in sporophyte morphology and gametophyte characters (monoecism versus dioecism). The dioecious population is found to be related to D. firma from South Africa and D. munda from the northeast Pacific, while the taxonomic status of the broad-bladed monoecious population is left undetermined. In both populations sporophytes originate after fertilization as well as by apomixis. Chromosome numbers alternate between ca. 23 and ca. 46. Evidence is presented that spermatozoids of the dioecious Desmarestia can develop into sporophytes (androgenesis or ephebogenesis).


Zootaxa ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4403 (2) ◽  
pp. 307 ◽  
Author(s):  
OLIVIER S. G. PAUWELS ◽  
ROMAN A. NAZAROV ◽  
VLADIMIR V. BOBROV ◽  
NIKOLAY A. POYARKOV

Based on genetic, morphological and chromatical comparisons we evaluate the taxonomic status of two southern Vietnamese forest-dwelling populations of the Cyrtodactylus irregularis species complex. We confirm the allocation of the population from Binh Chau—Phuoc Buu Nature Reserve (Ba Ria—Vung Tau Province) to C. cattienensis and we describe the population of Nui Chua National Park (Ninh Thuan Province) as Cyrtodactylus sangi sp. nov. This brings to 18 the number of species within the C. irregularis complex and to 41 the number of described Cyrtodactylus species recorded from Vietnam. 


2020 ◽  
pp. 234-264
Author(s):  
Waldemar Heckel

The campaign in the Punjab saw Alexander, supported by his Indian ally Taxiles, attack Porus, who lived beyond the Hydaspes River. The battle, at the beginning of the monsoon season, involved a division of the Macedonian forces. One part faced Porus at the river crossing, where the current and the elephants in the Indian army made a direct attack virtually impossible. Alexander took a portion of his army and marched upstream. Once across the river, he drew Porus away from his defensive position and defeated the Indian ruler in a battle fought primarily by cavalry, although the Macedonian pikemen inflicted injuries on the elephants, which became a danger to their own troops. After the Hydaspes victory, Alexander advanced to the Hyphasis (Beas), where the army refused to cross in order to march to the Ganges. The whole episode was contrived, since Alexander clearly had no intention of going farther east. His failure to reach the eastern end of the world was thus attributed to the timidity and war-weariness of his soldiers. During the descent of the Indus river system, Alexander received a near-fatal wound at the hands of the Mallians. Once he recovered, Alexander conducted a series of bloody massacres as he sailed to the mouth of the Indus and accomplished his goal of sailing out into the ocean. Although the Indian campaign was by far the bloodiest of the expedition, there was little long-term gain from the conquest.


2003 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 41 ◽  
Author(s):  
JM Macaranas ◽  
D Colgan ◽  
S Ingleby

The taxonomic status of fruitbats belonging to the genera Nyctimene and Rousettus from the Solomon Islands was investigated using allozyme electrophoresis. Two populations from the Bismarck Archipelago (Papua New Guinea) were included as reference profiles. The allozyme data at 23 loci assigned all specimens into either Nyctimene albiventer or Nyctimene major. The N. albiventer specimens comprised two subspecies, N. a. papuanus from the Bismarck Archipelago and N. a. bougainville from the Solomon Islands. No support was evident for bougainville being a separate species, and indeed the data suggest that N. a. bougainville encompasses the previously described species N. malaita and subspecies N. a. minor. Genetic distances between populations of R. amplexicaudatus from the Bismarck Archipelago and the Solomon Islands were generally low, supporting recent morphological assessments that the subspecies hedigeri, from the majority of the Solomon Islands, should be considered synonymous with subspecies brachyotis. An individual from Choiseul (Solomon Islands) with a distinctive allozyme profile is the only evidence of taxonomic complexity in R. amplexicaudatus.


The Condor ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 109 (4) ◽  
pp. 954-962
Author(s):  
Robert C. Fleischer ◽  
Beth Slikas ◽  
Jon Beadell ◽  
Colm Atkins ◽  
Carl E. McINTOSH ◽  
...  

Abstract The Millerbird (Acrocephalus familiaris) is an endemic Northwestern Hawaiian Islands reed warbler that existed until about 1923 on Laysan Island (A. f. familiaris) and currently occurs in a small population on Nihoa Island (A. f. kingi). The two populations are described as separate subspecies or species on the basis of size and plumage differences. We assessed genetic variation in blood samples from 15 individuals in the modern Nihoa population using approximately 3000 base pairs (bp) of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence and 14 microsatellite loci. We also obtained up to 1028 bp of mtDNA sequence from the fragmented DNA of museum specimens of three birds collected on Nihoa in 1923 and five birds collected on Laysan in 1902 and 1911 (ancient samples). Genetic variation in both marker types was extremely low in the modern Nihoa population (nucleotide diversity [π]  =  0.00005 for mtDNA sequences; observed heterozygosity was 7.2% for the microsatellite loci). In contrast, we found three mtDNA haplotypes among the five Laysan individuals (π  =  0.0023), indicating substantially greater genetic variation. The Nihoa and Laysan taxa differed by 1.7% uncorrected mtDNA sequence divergence, a magnitude that would support designation at the subspecies, and perhaps species, level relative to other closely related Acrocephalus species pairs. However, in light of strong ecological similarity between the two taxa, and a need to have additional populations to prevent extinction from stochastic effects and catastrophes, we believe these genetic differences should not deter a potential translocation of individuals from Nihoa to Laysan.


2018 ◽  
Vol 66 (6) ◽  
pp. 379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven J. B. Cooper ◽  
Kym Ottewell ◽  
Anna J. MacDonald ◽  
Mark Adams ◽  
Margaret Byrne ◽  
...  

Southern brown (Isoodon obesulus) and golden (Isoodon auratus) bandicoots are iconic Australian marsupials that have experienced dramatic declines since European settlement. Conservation management programs seek to protect the remaining populations; however, these programs are impeded by major taxonomic uncertainties. We investigated the history of population connectivity to inform subspecies and species boundaries through a broad-scale phylogeographic and population genetic analysis of Isoodon taxa. Our analyses reveal a major east–west phylogeographic split within I. obesulus/I. auratus, supported by both mtDNA and nuclear gene analyses, which is not coincident with the current species or subspecies taxonomy. In the eastern lineage, all Tasmanian samples formed a distinct monophyletic haplotype group to the exclusion of all mainland samples, indicative of long-term isolation of this population from mainland Australia and providing support for retention of the subspecific status of the Tasmanian population (I. o. affinis). Analyses further suggest that I. o. obesulus is limited to south-eastern mainland Australia, representing a significant reduction in known range. However, the analyses provide no clear consensus on the taxonomic status of bandicoot populations within the western lineage, with further analyses required, ideally incorporating data from historical museum specimens to fill distributional gaps.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirsten Findell ◽  
Patrick Keys ◽  
Ruud van der Ent ◽  
Benjamin Lintner ◽  
Alexis Berg ◽  
...  

<p>Understanding vulnerabilities of continental precipitation to changing climatic conditions is of critical importance to society at large. Terrestrial precipitation is fed by moisture originating as evaporation from oceans and from recycling of water evaporated from continental sources. In this study, continental precipitation and evaporation recycling processes in the Earth system model GFDL-ESM2G are shown to be consistent with estimates from two different reanalysis products. The GFDL-ESM2G simulations of historical and future climate also show that values of continental moisture recycling ratios were systematically higher in the past and will be lower in the future.</p><p>Global mean recycling ratios decrease 2%–3% with each degree of temperature increase, indicating the increased importance of oceanic evaporation for continental precipitation. Theoretical arguments for recycling changes stem from increasing atmospheric temperatures and evaporative demand that drive increases in evaporation over oceans that are more rapid than those over land as a result of terrestrial soil moisture limitations. Simulated recycling changes are demonstrated to be consistent with these theoretical arguments. A simple prototype describing this theory effectively captures the zonal mean behavior of GFDL-ESM2G.</p><p>Key sources of terrestrial evaporation, notably the interior of the Amazon basin and parts of the Ganges-Brahmaputra and Indus River basins, may experience reductions in moisture recycling. This has implications for key sink regions of terrestrial recycled precipitation, especially in rain-fed agricultural regions where crop yields will become increasingly soil moisture limited, such as the La Plata River basin, the corn producing regions of North America, southern Africa and the Sahel.</p><p>The results presented here have been published last year in Journal of Climate dx.doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-19-0145.1</p><p> </p>


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