Contrasting phylogeographic patterns and demographic history in closely related species of Daphnia longispina group (Crustacea: Cladocera) with focus on North-Eastern Eurasia

PLoS One. 2018 Nov 14;13(11):e0207347. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0207347. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

Species with large geographic distributions present a challenge for phylogeographic studies due to the logistic difficulties of obtaining adequate samples. Daphnia O.F. Müller (Anomopoda: Daphniidae) is a model genus for evolutionary biology and ecology, but many regions such as the remote areas of Siberia, remain poorly studied. Here we examined genetic polymorphism in the ribosomal 12S and the protein-coding ND2 mitochondrial genes of three closely related taxa of the Daphnia (Daphnia) longispina complex, namely D. galeata Sars, D. longispina O.F. Müller and D. dentifera Forbes. We estimated the phylogenetic relationships among these taxa based on a concatenated alignment of these two genes. Using sequences from the present study and those available in GenBank, we investigated the geographic distributions of the mitochondrial haplotypes of these species and proposed an evolutionary scenario for each taxon. Network structures, haplotype distribution patterns, and FST values indicated significant differences in the evolutionary history of the examined species. Our analysis of D. galeata populations confirmed its recent and fast expansion, without a previous phase of a strong population disconnection. In contrast, the high haplotype diversity in D. dentifera and D. longispina could be explained by the survival of different phylogroups in several glacial refugia located in different geographic regions. For all studied species, maximum haplotype diversity was recorded in the remote regions of Siberia-lakes of the Yenisei River and Transbaikalia. Our study is an important step in our understanding of the evolutionary history of the Daphnia longispina group and provides further evidence of the biogeographic significance of Siberia for freshwater taxa.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animal Distribution
  • Animals
  • Austria
  • Biological Evolution
  • Cladocera / genetics
  • DNA, Mitochondrial / genetics*
  • Daphnia / genetics*
  • Haplotypes
  • Lakes / analysis
  • Mongolia
  • Phylogeny*
  • Phylogeography
  • Polymorphism, Genetic
  • Russia
  • Siberia

Substances

  • DNA, Mitochondrial

Grants and funding

The ND2 analysis by AAK is supported by the Russian Science Foundation (grant 18-14-00325). The 12S analysis by EIZ, NAB and SAA is supported by the Russian Federal Fundamental Scientific Research Program for 2013-2020 № VI.51.1.9. АААА-А16-116121410119-4. Field collection in Russia was carried out by our team or by colleagues as part of a governmental project "Ecology and biodiversity of aquatic ecosystems and invasions of alien species" (№ 0109-2014-0008 for 2015-2017). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.