TY - GEN A1 - Paraskevopoulou, Sofia A1 - Dennis, Alice B. A1 - Weithoff, Guntram A1 - Hartmann, Stefanie A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Within species expressed genetic variability and gene expression response to different temperatures in the rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus sensu stricto T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Genetic divergence is impacted by many factors, including phylogenetic history, gene flow, genetic drift, and divergent selection. Rotifers are an important component of aquatic ecosystems, and genetic variation is essential to their ongoing adaptive diversification and local adaptation. In addition to coding sequence divergence, variation in gene expression may relate to variable heat tolerance, and can impose ecological barriers within species. Temperature plays a significant role in aquatic ecosystems by affecting species abundance, spatio-temporal distribution, and habitat colonization. Recently described (formerly cryptic) species of the Brachionus calyciflorus complex exhibit different temperature tolerance both in natural and in laboratory studies, and show that B. calyciflorus sensu stricto (s.s.) is a thermotolerant species. Even within B. calyciflorus s.s., there is a tendency for further temperature specializations. Comparison of expressed genes allows us to assess the impact of stressors on both expression and sequence divergence among disparate populations within a single species. Here, we have used RNA-seq to explore expressed genetic diversity in B. calyciflorus s.s. in two mitochondrial DNA lineages with different phylogenetic histories and differences in thermotolerance. We identify a suite of candidate genes that may underlie local adaptation, with a particular focus on the response to sustained high or low temperatures. We do not find adaptive divergence in established candidate genes for thermal adaptation. Rather, we detect divergent selection among our two lineages in genes related to metabolism (lipid metabolism, metabolism of xenobiotics). T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 796 Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-441050 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 796 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Paraskevopoulou, Sofia A1 - Dennis, Alice B. A1 - Weithoff, Guntram A1 - Hartmann, Stefanie A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Within species expressed genetic variability and gene expression response to different temperatures in the rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus sensu stricto JF - PLoS ONE N2 - Genetic divergence is impacted by many factors, including phylogenetic history, gene flow, genetic drift, and divergent selection. Rotifers are an important component of aquatic ecosystems, and genetic variation is essential to their ongoing adaptive diversification and local adaptation. In addition to coding sequence divergence, variation in gene expression may relate to variable heat tolerance, and can impose ecological barriers within species. Temperature plays a significant role in aquatic ecosystems by affecting species abundance, spatio-temporal distribution, and habitat colonization. Recently described (formerly cryptic) species of the Brachionus calyciflorus complex exhibit different temperature tolerance both in natural and in laboratory studies, and show that B. calyciflorus sensu stricto (s.s.) is a thermotolerant species. Even within B. calyciflorus s.s., there is a tendency for further temperature specializations. Comparison of expressed genes allows us to assess the impact of stressors on both expression and sequence divergence among disparate populations within a single species. Here, we have used RNA-seq to explore expressed genetic diversity in B. calyciflorus s.s. in two mitochondrial DNA lineages with different phylogenetic histories and differences in thermotolerance. We identify a suite of candidate genes that may underlie local adaptation, with a particular focus on the response to sustained high or low temperatures. We do not find adaptive divergence in established candidate genes for thermal adaptation. Rather, we detect divergent selection among our two lineages in genes related to metabolism (lipid metabolism, metabolism of xenobiotics). Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0223134 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 9 IS - 14 PB - PLoS ONE CY - San Francisco, California ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kiemel, Katrin A1 - Gurke, Marie A1 - Paraskevopoulou, Sofia A1 - Havenstein, Katja A1 - Weithoff, Guntram A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Variation in heat shock protein 40 kDa relates to divergence in thermotolerance among cryptic rotifer species JF - Scientific reports N2 - Genetic divergence and the frequency of hybridization are central for defining species delimitations, especially among cryptic species where morphological differences are merely absent. Rotifers are known for their high cryptic diversity and therefore are ideal model organisms to investigate such patterns. Here, we used the recently resolved Brachionus calyciflorus species complex to investigate whether previously observed between species differences in thermotolerance and gene expression are also reflected in their genomic footprint. We identified a Heat Shock Protein gene (HSP 40 kDa) which exhibits cross species pronounced sequence variation. This gene exhibits species-specific fixed sites, alleles, and sites putatively under positive selection. These sites are located in protein binding regions involved in chaperoning and may therefore reflect adaptive diversification. By comparing three genetic markers (ITS, COI, HSP 40 kDa), we revealed hybridization events between the cryptic species. The low frequency of introgressive haplotypes/alleles suggest a tight, but not fully impermeable boundary between the cryptic species. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-27137-3 SN - 2045-2322 VL - 12 IS - 1 PB - Macmillan Publishers Limited CY - London ER - TY - GEN A1 - Kiemel, Katrin A1 - Gurke, Marie A1 - Paraskevopoulou, Sofia A1 - Havenstein, Katja A1 - Weithoff, Guntram A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Variation in heat shock protein 40 kDa relates to divergence in thermotolerance among cryptic rotifer species T2 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Genetic divergence and the frequency of hybridization are central for defining species delimitations, especially among cryptic species where morphological differences are merely absent. Rotifers are known for their high cryptic diversity and therefore are ideal model organisms to investigate such patterns. Here, we used the recently resolved Brachionus calyciflorus species complex to investigate whether previously observed between species differences in thermotolerance and gene expression are also reflected in their genomic footprint. We identified a Heat Shock Protein gene (HSP 40 kDa) which exhibits cross species pronounced sequence variation. This gene exhibits species-specific fixed sites, alleles, and sites putatively under positive selection. These sites are located in protein binding regions involved in chaperoning and may therefore reflect adaptive diversification. By comparing three genetic markers (ITS, COI, HSP 40 kDa), we revealed hybridization events between the cryptic species. The low frequency of introgressive haplotypes/alleles suggest a tight, but not fully impermeable boundary between the cryptic species. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 1305 Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-578635 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 1305 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kiemel, Katrin A1 - Gurke, Marie A1 - Paraskevopoulou, Sofia A1 - Havenstein, Katja A1 - Weithoff, Guntram A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Variation in heat shock protein 40 kDa relates to divergence in thermotolerance among cryptic rotifer species JF - Scientific Reports N2 - Genetic divergence and the frequency of hybridization are central for defining species delimitations, especially among cryptic species where morphological differences are merely absent. Rotifers are known for their high cryptic diversity and therefore are ideal model organisms to investigate such patterns. Here, we used the recently resolved Brachionus calyciflorus species complex to investigate whether previously observed between species differences in thermotolerance and gene expression are also reflected in their genomic footprint. We identified a Heat Shock Protein gene (HSP 40 kDa) which exhibits cross species pronounced sequence variation. This gene exhibits species-specific fixed sites, alleles, and sites putatively under positive selection. These sites are located in protein binding regions involved in chaperoning and may therefore reflect adaptive diversification. By comparing three genetic markers (ITS, COI, HSP 40 kDa), we revealed hybridization events between the cryptic species. The low frequency of introgressive haplotypes/alleles suggest a tight, but not fully impermeable boundary between the cryptic species. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-27137-3 SN - 2045-2322 VL - 12 PB - Springer Nature CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wronski, Torsten A1 - Wacher, Timothy A1 - Hammond, Robert L. A1 - Winney, Bruce A1 - Hundertmark, Kris J. A1 - Blacket, Mark J. A1 - Mohammed, Osama B. A1 - Flores, Benito A1 - Omer, Sawsan A. A1 - Macasero, William A1 - Plath, Martin A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Bleidorn, Christoph T1 - Two reciprocally monophyletic mtDNA lineages elucidate the taxonomic status of Mountain gazelles (Gazella gazella) N2 - Mountain gazelles (Gazella gazella) rank among the most critically endangered mammals on the Arabian Peninsula. Past conservation efforts have been plagued by confusion about the phylogenetic relationship among various 'phenotypically discernable' populations, and even the question of species boundaries was far from being certain. This lack of knowledge has had a direct impact on conservation measures, especially ex situ breeding programmes, hampering the assignment of captive stocks to potential conservation units. Here, we provide a phylogenetic framework, based on the analysis of mtDNA sequences (360 bp cytochrome b and 213 bp Control Region) of 126 individuals collected from the wild throughout the Arabian Peninsula and from captive stocks. Our analyses revealed two reciprocally monophyletic genetic lineages within the presumed species Gazella gazella: one 'northern clade' on the Golan Heights (Israel/Syrian border) and one genetically diverse larger clade from the rest of the Arabian Peninsula including the Arava Valley (Negev, Israel). Applying the Strict Phylogenetic Species Concept (sensu Mishler & Theriot, 2000) allows assigning species status to these two major clades. Y1 - 2010 UR - http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=t913521959~db=all U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/14772001003613192 SN - 1477-2000 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Canitz, Julia A1 - Kirschbaum, Frank A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Transcriptome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms related to electric organ discharge differentiation among African weakly electric fish species JF - PLoS one N2 - African weakly electric fish of the mormyrid genus Campylomormyrus generate pulse-type electric organ discharges (EODs) for orientation and communication. Their pulse durations are species-specific and elongated EODs are a derived trait. So far, differential gene expression among tissue-specific transcriptomes across species with different pulses and point mutations in single ion channel genes indicate a relation of pulse duration and electrocyte geometry/excitability. However, a comprehensive assessment of expressed Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) throughout the entire transcriptome of African weakly electric fish, with the potential to identify further genes influencing EOD duration, is still lacking. This is of particular value, as discharge duration is likely based on multiple cellular mechanisms and various genes. Here we provide the first transcriptome-wide SNP analysis of African weakly electric fish species (genus Campylomormyrus) differing by EOD duration to identify candidate genes and cellular mechanisms potentially involved in the determination of an elongated discharge of C. tshokwe. Non-synonymous substitutions specific to C. tshokwe were found in 27 candidate genes with inferred positive selection among Campylomormyrus species. These candidate genes had mainly functions linked to transcriptional regulation, cell proliferation and cell differentiation. Further, by comparing gene annotations between C. compressirostris (ancestral short EOD) and C. tshokwe (derived elongated EOD), we identified 27 GO terms and 2 KEGG pathway categories for which C. tshokwe significantly more frequently exhibited a species-specific expressed substitution than C. compressirostris. The results indicate that transcriptional regulation as well cell proliferation and differentiation take part in the determination of elongated pulse durations in C. tshokwe. Those cellular processes are pivotal for tissue morphogenesis and might determine the shape of electric organs supporting the observed correlation between electrocyte geometry/tissue structure and discharge duration. The inferred expressed SNPs and their functional implications are a valuable resource for future investigations on EOD durations. Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0240812 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 15 IS - 10 PB - PLoS CY - San Francisco, California, US ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schedina, Ina Maria A1 - Groth, Detlef A1 - Schlupp, Ingo A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - The gonadal transcriptome of the unisexual Amazon molly Poecilia formosa in comparison to its sexual ancestors, Poecilia mexicana and Poecilia latipinna JF - BMC Genomics N2 - Background The unisexual Amazon molly (Poecilia formosa) originated from a hybridization between two sexual species, the sailfin molly (Poecilia latipinna) and the Atlantic molly (Poecilia mexicana). The Amazon molly reproduces clonally via sperm-dependent parthenogenesis (gynogenesis), in which the sperm of closely related species triggers embryogenesis of the apomictic oocytes, but typically does not contribute genetic material to the next generation. We compare for the first time the gonadal transcriptome of the Amazon molly to those of both ancestral species, P. mexicana and P. latipinna. Results We sequenced the gonadal transcriptomes of the P. formosa and its parental species P. mexicana and P. latipinna using Illumina RNA-sequencing techniques (paired-end, 100 bp). De novo assembly of about 50 million raw read pairs for each species was performed using Trinity, yielding 106,922 transcripts for P. formosa, 115,175 for P. latipinna, and 133,025 for P. mexicana after eliminating contaminations. On the basis of sequence similarity comparisons to other teleost species and the UniProt databases, functional annotation, and differential expression analysis, we demonstrate the similarity of the transcriptomes among the three species. More than 40% of the transcripts for each species were functionally annotated and about 70% were assigned to orthologous genes of a closely related species. Differential expression analysis between the sexual and unisexual species uncovered 2035 up-regulated and 564 down-regulated genes in P. formosa. This was exemplary validated for six genes by qRT-PCR. Conclusions We identified more than 130 genes related to meiosis and reproduction within the apomictically reproducing P. formosa. Overall expression of these genes seems to be down-regulated in the P. formosa transcriptome compared to both ancestral species (i.e., 106 genes down-regulated, 29 up-regulated). A further 35 meiosis and reproduction related genes were not found in the P. formosa transcriptome, but were only expressed in the sexual species. Our data support the hypothesis of general down-regulation of meiosis-related genes in the apomictic Amazon molly. Furthermore, the obtained dataset and identified gene catalog will serve as a resource for future research on the molecular mechanisms behind the reproductive mode of this unisexual species. KW - Differential gene expression KW - Gynogenesis KW - Hybrid speciation KW - Meiosis KW - Poecilia formosa KW - Poecilia latipinna KW - Poecilia mexicana Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-017-4382-2 SN - 1471-2164 VL - 19 IS - 12 SP - 1 EP - 18 PB - BioMed Central CY - London ER - TY - GEN A1 - Schedina, Ina Maria A1 - Groth, Detlef A1 - Schlupp, Ingo A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - The gonadal transcriptome of the unisexual Amazon molly Poecilia formosa in comparison to its sexual ancestors, Poecilia mexicana and Poecilia latipinna N2 - Abstract Background The unisexual Amazon molly (Poecilia formosa) originated from a hybridization between two sexual species, the sailfin molly (Poecilia latipinna) and the Atlantic molly (Poecilia mexicana). The Amazon molly reproduces clonally via sperm-dependent parthenogenesis (gynogenesis), in which the sperm of closely related species triggers embryogenesis of the apomictic oocytes, but typically does not contribute genetic material to the next generation. We compare for the first time the gonadal transcriptome of the Amazon molly to those of both ancestral species, P. mexicana and P. latipinna. Results We sequenced the gonadal transcriptomes of the P. formosa and its parental species P. mexicana and P. latipinna using Illumina RNA-sequencing techniques (paired-end, 100 bp). De novo assembly of about 50 million raw read pairs for each species was performed using Trinity, yielding 106,922 transcripts for P. formosa, 115,175 for P. latipinna, and 133,025 for P. mexicana after eliminating contaminations. On the basis of sequence similarity comparisons to other teleost species and the UniProt databases, functional annotation, and differential expression analysis, we demonstrate the similarity of the transcriptomes among the three species. More than 40% of the transcripts for each species were functionally annotated and about 70% were assigned to orthologous genes of a closely related species. Differential expression analysis between the sexual and unisexual species uncovered 2035 up-regulated and 564 down-regulated genes in P. formosa. This was exemplary validated for six genes by qRT-PCR. Conclusions We identified more than 130 genes related to meiosis and reproduction within the apomictically reproducing P. formosa. Overall expression of these genes seems to be down-regulated in the P. formosa transcriptome compared to both ancestral species (i.e., 106 genes down-regulated, 29 up-regulated). A further 35 meiosis and reproduction related genes were not found in the P. formosa transcriptome, but were only expressed in the sexual species. Our data support the hypothesis of general down-regulation of meiosis-related genes in the apomictic Amazon molly. Furthermore, the obtained dataset and identified gene catalog will serve as a resource for future research on the molecular mechanisms behind the reproductive mode of this unisexual species. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 412 KW - Differential gene expression KW - Gynogenesis KW - Hybrid speciation KW - Meiosis KW - Poecilia formosa KW - Poecilia latipinna KW - Poecilia mexicana Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-409299 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Vernesi, C. A1 - Pecchioli, E. A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Randi, E. A1 - Bertorelle, G. T1 - The genetic structure of natural and reintroduced roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) populations in the Alps and central Italy, with reference to the mitochondrial DNA phylogeography of Europe Y1 - 2002 SN - 0962-1083 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Grobler, J. P. A1 - Hartl, G. B. A1 - Grobler, N. A1 - Kotze, A. A1 - Botha, K. A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - The genetic status of an isolated black wildebeest (Connochaetes gnou) population from the Abe Bailey Nature Reserve, South Africa : Microsatellite data on a putative past hybridization with blue wildebeest (C-taurinus) N2 - The present study aimed at assessing genetic purity of black wildebeest (Connochoetes gnou) at Abe Bailey Nature Reserve, Gauteng Province, South Africa, using a multitocus microsatellite approach. Five loci were studied in black and blue (C. taurinus) wildebeest, the latter being a closely related species and known to produce hybrids with the morphologically very similar black wildebeest. In fact, the entire national black wildebeest population of South Africa potentially contains a significant proportion of introgressed blue wildebeest genes. In our case, eight out of 39 alleles were unique to black and 22 to blue wildebeest, with nine alleles shared between pure populations of the two species in Line with their taxonomic proximity. A possible Limited past introgression of blue wildebeest genes into the Abe Bailey population, corresponding to documents on population history, was only supported by the presence of a single allele otherwise exclusively found in samples of four pure blue but not in samples of two pure black wildebeest control populations. However, an assignment test and coefficients of population divergence did not support an extended introgression of C. taurinus alleles into the C. gnou population under study. Average heterozygosity at Abe Bailey proved to be intermediate between black and blue wildebeest, the tatter species generally harbouring more genetic variation than the former owing to larger population sizes and the absence of population bottlenecks in historical times. The implications of our data are discussed with reference to the persistence of introgressed genes and the conservation of pure black wildebeest gene pools Y1 - 2005 SN - 1616-5047 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - De Cahsan, Binia A1 - Westbury, Michael V. A1 - Drews, Hauke A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - The complete mitochondrial genome of a European fire-bellied toad (Bombina bombina) from Germany JF - Mitochondrial DNA Part B N2 - The European fire-bellied toad, Bombina bombina, is a small aquatic toad belonging to the family Bombinatoridae. The species is native to the lowlands of Central and Eastern Europe, where population numbers have been in decline in recent past decades. Here, we present the first complete mitochondrial genome of the endangered European fire-bellied toad from Northern Germany recovered using iterative mapping. Phylogenetic analyses including other representatives of the Bombinatoridae placed our German specimen as sister to a Polish B. bombina sequence with high support. This finding is congruent with the postulated Pleistocene history of the species. Our complete mitochondrial genome represents an important resource for further population analysis of the European fire-bellied toad, especially those found within Germany. KW - Bombina bombina KW - Fire-bellied toad KW - mitogenome KW - conservation genetics KW - population delimitation Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/23802359.2018.1547143 SN - 2380-2359 VL - 4 IS - 1 SP - 498 EP - 500 PB - Taylor & Francis Group CY - London ER - TY - GEN A1 - De Cahsan, Binia A1 - Westbury, Michael V. A1 - Drews, Hauke A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - The complete mitochondrial genome of a European fire-bellied toad (Bombina bombina) from Germany T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - The European fire-bellied toad, Bombina bombina, is a small aquatic toad belonging to the family Bombinatoridae. The species is native to the lowlands of Central and Eastern Europe, where population numbers have been in decline in recent past decades. Here, we present the first complete mitochondrial genome of the endangered European fire-bellied toad from Northern Germany recovered using iterative mapping. Phylogenetic analyses including other representatives of the Bombinatoridae placed our German specimen as sister to a Polish B. bombina sequence with high support. This finding is congruent with the postulated Pleistocene history of the species. Our complete mitochondrial genome represents an important resource for further population analysis of the European fire-bellied toad, especially those found within Germany. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 532 KW - Bombina bombina KW - Fire-bellied toad KW - mitogenome KW - conservation genetics KW - population delimitation Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-423222 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 532 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Pavesi, Laura A1 - De Matthaeis, Elvira A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Ketmaier, Valerio T1 - Temporal population genetics and COI phylogeography of the sandhopper macarorchestia remyi (Amphipoda: Talitridae) JF - Zoological studies N2 - Laura Pavesi, Elvira De Matthaeis, Ralph Tiedemann, and Valerio Ketmaier (2011) Temporal population genetics and COI phylogeography of the sandhopper Macarorchestia remyi (Amphipoda: Talitridae). Zoological Studies 50(2): 220-229. In this study we assessed levels of genetic divergence and variability in 208 individuals of the supralittoral sandhopper Macarorchestia remyi, a species strictly associated with rotted wood stranded on sand beaches, by analyzing sequence polymorphisms in a fragment of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) gene coding cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI). The geographical distribution and ecology of the species are poorly known. The study includes 1 Tyrrhenian and 2 Adriatic populations sampled along the Italian peninsula plus a single individual found on Corfu Is. (Greece). The Tyrrhenian population was sampled monthly for 1 yr. Genetic data revealed a deep phylogeographic break between the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic populations with no shared haplotypes. The single individual collected on Corfu Is. carried the most common haplotype found in the Tyrrhenian population. A mismatch analysis could not reject the hypothesis of a sudden demographic expansion in almost all but 2 monthly samples. When compared to previous genetic data centered on a variety of Mediterranean talitrids, our results place M. remyi among those species with profound intraspecific divergence (sandhoppers) and dissimilar from beachfleas, which generally display little population genetic structuring. KW - Macarorchestia remyi KW - Talitridae KW - Cytochrome oxidase I KW - Population genetics Y1 - 2011 SN - 1021-5506 VL - 50 IS - 2 SP - 220 EP - 229 PB - Institute of Zoology, Academia Sinica CY - Taipei ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Epp, Laura Saskia A1 - Kruse, Stefan A1 - Kath, Nadja J. A1 - Stoof-Leichsenring, Kathleen Rosemarie A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Pestryakova, Luidmila Agafyevna A1 - Herzschuh, Ulrike T1 - Temporal and spatial patterns of mitochondrial haplotype and species distributions in Siberian larches inferred from ancient environmental DNA and modeling JF - Scientific reports N2 - Changes in species’ distributions are classically projected based on their climate envelopes. For Siberian forests, which have a tremendous significance for vegetation-climate feedbacks, this implies future shifts of each of the forest-forming larch (Larix) species to the north-east. However, in addition to abiotic factors, reliable projections must assess the role of historical biogeography and biotic interactions. Here, we use sedimentary ancient DNA and individual-based modelling to investigate the distribution of larch species and mitochondrial haplotypes through space and time across the treeline ecotone on the southern Taymyr peninsula, which at the same time presents a boundary area of two larch species. We find spatial and temporal patterns, which suggest that forest density is the most influential driver determining the precise distribution of species and mitochondrial haplotypes. This suggests a strong influence of competition on the species’ range shifts. These findings imply possible climate change outcomes that are directly opposed to projections based purely on climate envelopes. Investigations of such fine-scale processes of biodiversity change through time are possible using paleoenvironmental DNA, which is available much more readily than visible fossils and can provide information at a level of resolution that is not reached in classical palaeoecology. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-35550-w SN - 2045-2322 VL - 8 PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - London ER - TY - GEN A1 - Epp, Laura Saskia A1 - Kruse, Stefan A1 - Kath, Nadja J. A1 - Stoof-Leichsenring, Kathleen Rosemarie A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Pestryakova, Luidmila Agafyevna A1 - Herzschuh, Ulrike T1 - Temporal and spatial patterns of mitochondrial haplotype and species distributions in Siberian larches inferred from ancient environmental DNA and modeling T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Changes in species' distributions are classically projected based on their climate envelopes. For Siberian forests, which have a tremendous significance for vegetation-climate feedbacks, this implies future shifts of each of the forest-forming larch (Larix) species to the north-east. However, in addition to abiotic factors, reliable projections must assess the role of historical biogeography and biotic interactions. Here, we use sedimentary ancient DNA and individual-based modelling to investigate the distribution of larch species and mitochondrial haplotypes through space and time across the treeline ecotone on the southern Taymyr peninsula, which at the same time presents a boundary area of two larch species. We find spatial and temporal patterns, which suggest that forest density is the most influential driver determining the precise distribution of species and mitochondrial haplotypes. This suggests a strong influence of competition on the species' range shifts. These findings imply possible climate change outcomes that are directly opposed to projections based purely on climate envelopes. Investigations of such fine-scale processes of biodiversity change through time are possible using paleoenvironmental DNA, which is available much more readily than visible fossils and can provide information at a level of resolution that is not reached in classical palaeoecology. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 1052 KW - ecological genetics KW - ecological modelling KW - palaeoecology KW - plant ecology KW - climate change KW - introgression KW - temperature KW - treeline KW - vegetation KW - mitochondrial haplotypes KW - Siberian larch KW - larch species KW - range shifts KW - vegetation-climate feedbacks KW - ecosystems KW - impacts KW - dynamics Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-468352 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 1052 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Paraskevopoulou, Sofia A1 - Dennis, Alice B. A1 - Weithoff, Guntram A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Temperature-dependent life history and transcriptomic responses in heat-tolerant versus heat-sensitive Brachionus rotifers JF - Scientific Reports N2 - Thermal stress response is an essential physiological trait that determines occurrence and temporal succession in nature, including response to climate change. We compared temperature-related demography in closely related heat-tolerant and heat-sensitive Brachionus rotifer species. We found significant differences in heat response, with the heat-sensitive species adopting a strategy of long survival and low population growth, while the heat-tolerant followed the opposite strategy. In both species, we examined the genetic basis of physiological variation by comparing gene expression across increasing temperatures. Comparative transcriptomic analyses identified shared and opposing responses to heat. Interestingly, expression of heat shock proteins (hsps) was strikingly different in the two species and mirrored differences in population growth rates, showing that hsp genes are likely a key component of a species’ adaptation to different temperatures. Temperature induction caused opposing patterns of expression in further functional categories including energy, carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, and in genes related to ribosomal proteins. In the heat-sensitive species, elevated temperatures caused up-regulation of genes related to meiosis induction and post-translational histone modifications. This work demonstrates the sweeping reorganizations of biological functions that accompany temperature adaptation in these two species and reveals potential molecular mechanisms that might be activated for adaptation to global warming. KW - Ecology KW - Evolution KW - Oyster Crassostrea-gigas KW - cryptic species complex KW - pacific oyster KW - thermal-stress KW - genetic differentiation KW - expression patterns KW - molecular phylogeny KW - shock proteins KW - evolutionary KW - hsp70 Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-70173-0 SN - 2045-2322 VL - 10 PB - Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature CY - London ER - TY - GEN A1 - Paraskevopoulou, Sofia A1 - Dennis, Alice B. A1 - Weithoff, Guntram A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Temperature-dependent life history and transcriptomic responses in heat-tolerant versus heat-sensitive Brachionus rotifers T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Thermal stress response is an essential physiological trait that determines occurrence and temporal succession in nature, including response to climate change. We compared temperature-related demography in closely related heat-tolerant and heat-sensitive Brachionus rotifer species. We found significant differences in heat response, with the heat-sensitive species adopting a strategy of long survival and low population growth, while the heat-tolerant followed the opposite strategy. In both species, we examined the genetic basis of physiological variation by comparing gene expression across increasing temperatures. Comparative transcriptomic analyses identified shared and opposing responses to heat. Interestingly, expression of heat shock proteins (hsps) was strikingly different in the two species and mirrored differences in population growth rates, showing that hsp genes are likely a key component of a species’ adaptation to different temperatures. Temperature induction caused opposing patterns of expression in further functional categories including energy, carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, and in genes related to ribosomal proteins. In the heat-sensitive species, elevated temperatures caused up-regulation of genes related to meiosis induction and post-translational histone modifications. This work demonstrates the sweeping reorganizations of biological functions that accompany temperature adaptation in these two species and reveals potential molecular mechanisms that might be activated for adaptation to global warming. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 1012 KW - Ecology KW - Evolution KW - Oyster Crassostrea-gigas KW - cryptic species complex KW - pacific oyster KW - thermal-stress KW - genetic differentiation KW - expression patterns KW - molecular phylogeny KW - shock proteins KW - evolutionary KW - hsp70 Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-482280 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 1012 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schnitzler, Joseph G. A1 - Reckendorf, Anja A1 - Pinzone, Marianna A1 - Autenrieth, Marijke A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Covaci, Adrian A1 - Malarvannan, Govindan A1 - Ruser, Andreas A1 - Das, Krishna A1 - Siebert, Ursula T1 - Supporting evidence for PCB pollution threatening global killer whale population JF - Aquatic Toxicology N2 - A recent Science report predicted the global killer whale population to collapse due to PCB pollution. Here we present empirical evidence, which supports and extends the reports’ statement. In 2016, a neonate male killer whale stranded on the German island of Sylt. Neonatal attributes indicated an age of at least 3 days. The stomach contained ∼20 mL milk residue and no pathologies explaining the cause of death could be detected. Blubber samples presenting low lipid concentrations were analysed for persistent organic pollutants. Skin samples were collected for genotyping of the mitochondrial control region. The blubber PCB concentrations were very high [SPCBs, 225 mg/kg lipid weight (lw)], largely exceeding the PCB toxicity thresholds reported for the onset of immunosuppression [9 mg/kg lw ∑PCB] and for severe reproductive impairment [41 mg/kg lw ∑PCB] reported for marine mammals. Additionally, this individual showed equally high concentrations in p,p’-DDE [226 mg/kg lw], PBDEs [5 mg/kg lw] and liver mercury levels [1.1 μg/g dry weight dw]. These results suggest a high placental transfer of pollutants from mother to foetus. Consequently, blubber and plasma PCB concentrations and calf mortality rates are both high in primiparous females. With such high pollutant levels, this neonate had poor prerequisites for survival. The neonate belonged to Ecotype I (generalist feeder) and carried the mitochondrial haplotype 35 present in about 16% of the North Atlantic killer whale from or close to the North Sea. The relevance of this data becomes apparent in the UK West Coast Community, the UK's only residentorca population, which is currently composed of only eight individuals (each four males and females) and no calves have been reported over the last 19 years.Despite worldwide regulations, PCBs persist in the environment and remain a severe concern for killer whale populations, placing calves at high risk due to the mother-offspring PCB-transfer resulting in a high toxicological burden of the neonates. KW - Killer whale KW - PCB KW - DDT KW - PBDE KW - Mercury KW - North Sea Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquatox.2018.11.008 SN - 0166-445X SN - 1879-1514 VL - 206 SP - 102 EP - 104 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Senczuk, Gabriele A1 - Havenstein, Katja A1 - Milana, Valentina A1 - Ripa, Chiara A1 - De Simone, Emanuela A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Castiglia, Riccardo T1 - Spotlight on islands BT - on the origin and diversification of an ancient lineage of the Italian wall lizard Podarcis siculus in the western Pontine Islands JF - Scientific reports N2 - Groups of proximate continental islands may conceal more tangled phylogeographic patterns than oceanic archipelagos as a consequence of repeated sea level changes, which allow populations to experience gene flow during periods of low sea level stands and isolation by vicariant mechanisms during periods of high sea level stands. Here, we describe for the first time an ancient and diverging lineage of the Italian wall lizard Podarcis siculus from the western Pontine Islands. We used nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences of 156 individuals with the aim of unraveling their phylogenetic position, while microsatellite loci were used to test several a priori insular biogeographic models of migration with empirical data. Our results suggest that the western Pontine populations colonized the islands early during their Pliocene volcanic formation, while populations from the eastern Pontine Islands seem to have been introduced recently. The inter-island genetic makeup indicates an important role of historical migration, probably due to glacial land bridges connecting islands followed by a recent vicariant mechanism of isolation. Moreover, the most supported migration model predicted higher gene flow among islands which are geographically arranged in parallel. Considering the threatened status of small insular endemic populations, we suggest this new evolutionarily independent unit be given priority in conservation efforts. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-33326-w SN - 2045-2322 VL - 8 PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - London ER - TY - GEN A1 - Senczuk, Gabriele A1 - Havenstein, Katja A1 - Milana, Valentina A1 - Ripa, Chiara A1 - De Simone, Emanuela A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Castiglia, Riccardo T1 - Spotlight on islands BT - on the origin and diversification of an ancient lineage of the Italian wall lizard Podarcis siculus in the western Pontine Islands T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Groups of proximate continental islands may conceal more tangled phylogeographic patterns than oceanic archipelagos as a consequence of repeated sea level changes, which allow populations to experience gene flow during periods of low sea level stands and isolation by vicariant mechanisms during periods of high sea level stands. Here, we describe for the first time an ancient and diverging lineage of the Italian wall lizard Podarcis siculus from the western Pontine Islands. We used nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences of 156 individuals with the aim of unraveling their phylogenetic position, while microsatellite loci were used to test several a priori insular biogeographic models of migration with empirical data. Our results suggest that the western Pontine populations colonized the islands early during their Pliocene volcanic formation, while populations from the eastern Pontine Islands seem to have been introduced recently. The inter-island genetic makeup indicates an important role of historical migration, probably due to glacial land bridges connecting islands followed by a recent vicariant mechanism of isolation. Moreover, the most supported migration model predicted higher gene flow among islands which are geographically arranged in parallel. Considering the threatened status of small insular endemic populations, we suggest this new evolutionarily independent unit be given priority in conservation efforts. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 991 KW - mitochondrial dna sequences KW - genetic diversity KW - haplotype reconstruction KW - evolutionary history KW - geological evolution KW - population structure KW - Tyrrhenian Sea KW - endemic lizard KW - genotype data KW - biogeography Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-446360 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 991 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lamanna, Francesco A1 - Kirschbaum, Frank A1 - Ernst, Anja R. R. A1 - Feulner, Philine G. D. A1 - Mamonekene, Victor A1 - Paul, Christiane A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Species delimitation and phylogenetic relationships in a genus of African weakly-electric fishes (Osteoglossiformes, Mormyridae, Campylomormyrus) JF - Molecular phylogenetics and evolution N2 - African weakly-electric fishes (Mormyridae) are able to communicate through species-specific electric signals; this feature might have favoured the evolutionary radiation observed in this family (over 200 species) by acting as an effective pre-zygotic isolation mechanism. In the present study we used mitochondria((cytb) and nuclear (rps7, scn4aa) markers in order to reconstruct a species-phylogeny and identify species boundaries for the genus Campylomormyrus, by applying inference methods based on the multispecies coalescent model. Additionally, we employed 16 microsatellite markers, landmark-based morphometric measurements, and electro-physiological analyses as independent lines of evidence to the results obtained from the sequence data. The results show that groups that are morphologically different are also significantly divergent at the genetic level, whereas morphologically similar groups, displaying dissimilar electric signals, do not show enough genetic diversity to be considered separate species. Furthermore, the data confirm the presence of a yet undescribed species within the genus Campylomormyrus. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. KW - Mormyridae KW - Multispecies-coalescent KW - Campylomormyrus KW - Geometric morphometrics KW - Microsatellites KW - Species-delimitation Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2016.04.035 SN - 1055-7903 SN - 1095-9513 VL - 101 SP - 8 EP - 18 PB - Elsevier CY - San Diego ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lah, Ljerka A1 - Trense, Daronja A1 - Benke, Harald A1 - Berggren, Per A1 - Gunnlaugsson, Porvaldur A1 - Lockyer, Christina A1 - Öztürk, Ayaka A1 - Öztürk, Bayram A1 - Pawliczka, Iwona A1 - Roos, Anna A1 - Siebert, Ursula A1 - Skora, Krzysztof A1 - Vikingsson, Gisli A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Spatially Explicit Analysis of Genome-Wide SNPs Detects Subtle Population Structure in a Mobile Marine Mammal, the Harbor Porpoise JF - PLoS one N2 - The population structure of the highly mobile marine mammal, the harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), in the Atlantic shelf waters follows a pattern of significant isolation-by-distance. The population structure of harbor porpoises from the Baltic Sea, which is connected with the North Sea through a series of basins separated by shallow underwater ridges, however, is more complex. Here, we investigated the population differentiation of harbor porpoises in European Seas with a special focus on the Baltic Sea and adjacent waters, using a population genomics approach. We used 2872 single nucleotide polymor-phisms (SNPs), derived from double digest restriction-site associated DNA sequencing (ddRAD-seq), as well as 13 microsatellite loci and mitochondrial haplotypes for the same set of individuals. Spatial principal components analysis (sPCA), and Bayesian clustering on a subset of SNPs suggest three main groupings at the level of all studied regions: the Black Sea, the North Atlantic, and the Baltic Sea. Furthermore, we observed a distinct separation of the North Sea harbor porpoises from the Baltic Sea populations, and identified splits between porpoise populations within the Baltic Sea. We observed a notable distinction between the Belt Sea and the Inner Baltic Sea sub-regions. Improved delineation of harbor porpoise population assignments for the Baltic based on genomic evidence is important for conservation management of this endangered cetacean in threatened habitats, particularly in the Baltic Sea proper. In addition, we show that SNPs outperform microsatellite markers and demonstrate the utility of RAD-tags from a relatively small, opportunistically sampled cetacean sample set for population diversity and divergence analysis. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0162792 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 11 PB - PLoS CY - San Fransisco ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lah, Ljerka A1 - Trense, Daronja A1 - Benke, Harald A1 - Berggren, Per A1 - Gunnlaugsson, Þorvaldur A1 - Lockyer, Christina A1 - Öztürk, Ayaka A1 - Öztürk, Bayram A1 - Pawliczka, Iwona A1 - Roos, Anna A1 - Siebert, Ursula A1 - Skóra, Krzysztof A1 - Víkingsson, Gísli A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Spatially Explicit Analysis of Genome-Wide SNPs Detects Subtle Population Structure in a Mobile Marine Mammal, the Harbor Porpoise JF - PLoS one N2 - The population structure of the highly mobile marine mammal, the harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), in the Atlantic shelf waters follows a pattern of significant isolation-by-distance. The population structure of harbor porpoises from the Baltic Sea, which is connected with the North Sea through a series of basins separated by shallow underwater ridges, however, is more complex. Here, we investigated the population differentiation of harbor porpoises in European Seas with a special focus on the Baltic Sea and adjacent waters, using a population genomics approach. We used 2872 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), derived from double digest restriction-site associated DNA sequencing (ddRAD-seq), as well as 13 microsatellite loci and mitochondrial haplotypes for the same set of individuals. Spatial principal components analysis (sPCA), and Bayesian clustering on a subset of SNPs suggest three main groupings at the level of all studied regions: the Black Sea, the North Atlantic, and the Baltic Sea. Furthermore, we observed a distinct separation of the North Sea harbor porpoises from the Baltic Sea populations, and identified splits between porpoise populations within the Baltic Sea. We observed a notable distinction between the Belt Sea and the Inner Baltic Sea sub-regions. Improved delineation of harbor porpoise population assignments for the Baltic based on genomic evidence is important for conservation management of this endangered cetacean in threatened habitats, particularly in the Baltic Sea proper. In addition, we show that SNPs outperform microsatellite markers and demonstrate the utility of RAD-tags from a relatively small, opportunistically sampled cetacean sample set for population diversity and divergence analysis. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0162792 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 11 IS - 10 PB - PLoS CY - Lawrence, Kan. ER - TY - GEN A1 - Lah, Ljerka A1 - Trense, Daronja A1 - Benke, Harald A1 - Berggren, Per A1 - Gunnlaugsson, Þorvaldur A1 - Lockyer, Christina A1 - Öztürk, Ayaka A1 - Öztürk, Bayram A1 - Pawliczka, Iwona A1 - Roos, Anna A1 - Siebert, Ursula A1 - Skóra, Krzysztof A1 - Víkingsson, Gísli A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Spatially Explicit Analysis of Genome-Wide SNPs Detects Subtle Population Structure in a Mobile Marine Mammal, the Harbor Porpoise N2 - The population structure of the highly mobile marine mammal, the harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), in the Atlantic shelf waters follows a pattern of significant isolation-by-distance. The population structure of harbor porpoises from the Baltic Sea, which is connected with the North Sea through a series of basins separated by shallow underwater ridges, however, is more complex. Here, we investigated the population differentiation of harbor porpoises in European Seas with a special focus on the Baltic Sea and adjacent waters, using a population genomics approach. We used 2872 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), derived from double digest restriction-site associated DNA sequencing (ddRAD-seq), as well as 13 microsatellite loci and mitochondrial haplotypes for the same set of individuals. Spatial principal components analysis (sPCA), and Bayesian clustering on a subset of SNPs suggest three main groupings at the level of all studied regions: the Black Sea, the North Atlantic, and the Baltic Sea. Furthermore, we observed a distinct separation of the North Sea harbor porpoises from the Baltic Sea populations, and identified splits between porpoise populations within the Baltic Sea. We observed a notable distinction between the Belt Sea and the Inner Baltic Sea sub-regions. Improved delineation of harbor porpoise population assignments for the Baltic based on genomic evidence is important for conservation management of this endangered cetacean in threatened habitats, particularly in the Baltic Sea proper. In addition, we show that SNPs outperform microsatellite markers and demonstrate the utility of RAD-tags from a relatively small, opportunistically sampled cetacean sample set for population diversity and divergence analysis. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 295 Y1 - 2016 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-100813 SN - 1866-8372 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Cahsan, Binia De A1 - Kiemel, Katrin A1 - Westbury, Michael V. A1 - Lauritsen, Maike A1 - Autenrieth, Marijke A1 - Gollmann, Günter A1 - Schweiger, Silke A1 - Stenberg, Marika A1 - Nyström, Per A1 - Drews, Hauke A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Southern introgression increases adaptive immune gene variability in northern range margin populations of Fire-bellied toad T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Northern range margin populations of the European fire-bellied toad (Bombina bombina) have rapidly declined during recent decades. Extensive agricultural land use has fragmented the landscape, leading to habitat disruption and loss, as well as eutrophication of ponds. In Northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein) and Southern Sweden (Skåne), this population decline resulted in decreased gene flow from surrounding populations, low genetic diversity, and a putative reduction in adaptive potential, leaving populations vulnerable to future environmental and climatic changes. Previous studies using mitochondrial control region and nuclear transcriptome-wide SNP data detected introgressive hybridization in multiple northern B. bombina populations after unreported release of toads from Austria. Here, we determine the impact of this introgression by comparing the body conditions (proxy for fitness) of introgressed and nonintrogressed populations and the genetic consequences in two candidate genes for putative local adaptation (the MHC II gene as part of the adaptive immune system and the stress response gene HSP70 kDa). We detected regional differences in body condition and observed significantly elevated levels of within individual MHC allele counts in introgressed Swedish populations, associated with a tendency toward higher body weight, relative to regional nonintrogressed populations. These differences were not observed among introgressed and nonintrogressed German populations. Genetic diversity in both MHC and HSP was generally lower in northern than Austrian populations. Our study sheds light on the potential benefits of translocations of more distantly related conspecifics as a means to increase adaptive genetic variability and fitness of genetically depauperate range margin populations without distortion of local adaptation. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 1177 KW - Bombina bombina KW - heat shock protein KW - introgression KW - major histocompatibility complex KW - scaled mass index Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-523883 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 14 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Cahsan, Binia De A1 - Kiemel, Katrin A1 - Westbury, Michael V. A1 - Lauritsen, Maike A1 - Autenrieth, Marijke A1 - Gollmann, Günter A1 - Schweiger, Silke A1 - Stenberg, Marika A1 - Nyström, Per A1 - Drews, Hauke A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Southern introgression increases adaptive immune gene variability in northern range margin populations of Fire-bellied toad JF - Ecology and Evolution N2 - Northern range margin populations of the European fire-bellied toad (Bombina bombina) have rapidly declined during recent decades. Extensive agricultural land use has fragmented the landscape, leading to habitat disruption and loss, as well as eutrophication of ponds. In Northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein) and Southern Sweden (Skåne), this population decline resulted in decreased gene flow from surrounding populations, low genetic diversity, and a putative reduction in adaptive potential, leaving populations vulnerable to future environmental and climatic changes. Previous studies using mitochondrial control region and nuclear transcriptome-wide SNP data detected introgressive hybridization in multiple northern B. bombina populations after unreported release of toads from Austria. Here, we determine the impact of this introgression by comparing the body conditions (proxy for fitness) of introgressed and nonintrogressed populations and the genetic consequences in two candidate genes for putative local adaptation (the MHC II gene as part of the adaptive immune system and the stress response gene HSP70 kDa). We detected regional differences in body condition and observed significantly elevated levels of within individual MHC allele counts in introgressed Swedish populations, associated with a tendency toward higher body weight, relative to regional nonintrogressed populations. These differences were not observed among introgressed and nonintrogressed German populations. Genetic diversity in both MHC and HSP was generally lower in northern than Austrian populations. Our study sheds light on the potential benefits of translocations of more distantly related conspecifics as a means to increase adaptive genetic variability and fitness of genetically depauperate range margin populations without distortion of local adaptation. KW - Bombina bombina KW - heat shock protein KW - introgression KW - major histocompatibility complex KW - scaled mass index Y1 - 2021 SN - 2045-7758 VL - 11 IS - 14 PB - John Wiley & Sons, Inc. CY - New Jersey ER - TY - GEN A1 - Neye, Gundula A1 - Wallschläger, Hans-Dieter A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Song dialect boundaries in the Yellowhammer: Do they restrict gene flow? T2 - Journal of ornithology Y1 - 2006 SN - 0021-8375 VL - 147 IS - Supplement 1 SP - 219 EP - 219 PB - Blackwell CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Nahavandi, Nahid A1 - Plath, Martin A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Mirzajani, Ali R. T1 - Sexual and natural selection on morphological traits in a marine amphipod, Pontogammarus maeoticus (Sowinsky, 1894) JF - Marine biology research N2 - Sexual selection often leads to sexual dimorphism, where secondary sexual traits are more expressed in the male sex. This may be due, for example, to increased fighting or mate-guarding abilities of males expressing those traits. We investigated sexually dimorphic traits in four populations of a marine amphipod, Pontogammarus maeoticus (Gammaridea: Pontogammaridae), the most abundant amphipod species in the sublittoral zone along the southern shoreline of the Caspian Sea. Male amphipods are typically larger in body size than females, and have relatively larger posterior gnathopods and antennae. However, it remains to be studied for most other body appendages whether or not, and to what extent, they are sexually dimorphic. Using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA), we compared the relationships between body size and trait expression for 35 metric characters between males and females, and among the four populations examined by performing three different Discriminant Function Analyses (DFA). We detected several thus far undescribed sexual dimorphic traits such as the seventh peraeopods or the epimeral plates. We also found that the size of the propodus of the first and second gnathopods increases with increasing body size, and this allometric increase was stronger in males than in females. Finally, we found that the degree of sexual dimorphism in the expression of the width of the third epimeral plate varies across sites, suggesting that differences in ecology might affect the strength of sexual selection in different populations. KW - Caspian Sea KW - crustacean KW - dimorphism KW - scramble competition Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/17451001003713589 SN - 1745-1000 VL - 7 IS - 2 SP - 135 EP - 146 PB - Taylor & Francis Group CY - Oslo ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schwarte, Sandra A1 - Wegner, Fanny A1 - Havenstein, Katja A1 - Groth, Detlef A1 - Steup, Martin A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Sequence variation, differential expression, and divergent evolution in starch-related genes among accessions of Arabidopsis thaliana JF - Plant molecular biology : an international journal of fundamental research and genetic engineering N2 - Transitory starch metabolism is a nonlinear and highly regulated process. It originated very early in the evolution of chloroplast-containing cells and is largely based on a mosaic of genes derived from either the eukaryotic host cell or the prokaryotic endosymbiont. Initially located in the cytoplasm, starch metabolism was rewired into plastids in Chloroplastida. Relocation was accompanied by gene duplications that occurred in most starch-related gene families and resulted in subfunctionalization of the respective gene products. Starch-related isozymes were then evolutionary conserved by constraints such as internal starch structure, posttranslational protein import into plastids and interactions with other starch-related proteins. 25 starch-related genes in 26 accessions of Arabidopsis thaliana were sequenced to assess intraspecific diversity, phylogenetic relationships, and modes of selection. Furthermore, sequences derived from additional 80 accessions that are publicly available were analyzed. Diversity varies significantly among the starch-related genes. Starch synthases and phosphorylases exhibit highest nucleotide diversities, while pyrophosphatases and debranching enzymes are most conserved. The gene trees are most compatible with a scenario of extensive recombination, perhaps in a Pleistocene refugium. Most genes are under purifying selection, but disruptive selection was inferred for a few genes/substitutiones. To study transcript levels, leaves were harvested throughout the light period. By quantifying the transcript levels and by analyzing the sequence of the respective accessions, we were able to estimate whether transcript levels are mainly determined by genetic (i.e., accession dependent) or physiological (i.e., time dependent) parameters. We also identified polymorphic sites that putatively affect pattern or the level of transcripts. KW - Arabidopsis thaliana KW - Divergent evolution KW - Intraspecific genetic variation KW - Positive selection KW - Starch metabolizing enzymes KW - Transcript levels Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s11103-015-0293-2 SN - 0167-4412 SN - 1573-5028 VL - 87 IS - 4-5 SP - 489 EP - 519 PB - Springer CY - Dordrecht ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Zhu, Fangjun A1 - Schlupp, Ingo A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Sequence Evolution and Expression of the Androgen Receptor and Other Pathway-Related Genes in a Unisexual Fish, the Amazon Molly, Poecilia formosa, and Its Bisexual Ancestors JF - PLoS one N2 - The all-female Amazon molly (Poecilia formosa) originated from a single hybridization of two bisexual ancestors, Atlantic molly (Poecilia mexicana) and sailfin molly (Poecilia latipinna). As a gynogenetic species, the Amazon molly needs to copulate with a heterospecific male, but the genetic information of the sperm-donor does not contribute to the next generation, as the sperm only acts as the trigger for the diploid eggs’ embryogenesis. Here, we study the sequence evolution and gene expression of the duplicated genes coding for androgen receptors (ars) and other pathway-related genes, i.e., the estrogen receptors (ers) and cytochrome P450, family19, subfamily A, aromatase genes (cyp19as), in the Amazon molly, in comparison to its bisexual ancestors. Mollies possess–as most other teleost fish—two copies of the ar, er, and cyp19a genes, i.e., arα/arβ, erα/erβ1, and cyp19a1 (also referred as cyp19a1a)/cyp19a2 (also referred to as cyp19a1b), respectively. Non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) among the ancestral bisexual species were generally predicted not to alter protein function. Some derived substitutions in the P. mexicana and one in P. formosa are predicted to impact protein function. We also describe the gene expression pattern of the ars and pathway-related genes in various tissues (i.e., brain, gill, and ovary) and provide SNP markers for allele specific expression research. As a general tendency, the levels of gene expression were lowest in gill and highest in ovarian tissues, while expression levels in the brain were intermediate in most cases. Expression levels in P. formosa were conserved where expression did not differ between the two bisexual ancestors. In those cases where gene expression levels significantly differed between the bisexual species, P. formosa expression was always comparable to the higher expression level among the two ancestors. Interestingly, erβ1 was expressed neither in brain nor in gill in the analyzed three molly species, which implies a more important role of erα in the estradiol synthesis pathway in these tissues. Furthermore, our data suggest that interactions of steroid-signaling pathway genes differ across tissues, in particular the interactions of ars and cyp19as. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0156209 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 11 PB - PLoS CY - San Fransisco ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Zhu, Fangjun A1 - Schlupp, Ingo A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Sequence Evolution and Expression of the Androgen Receptor and Other Pathway-Related Genes in a Unisexual Fish, the Amazon Molly, Poecilia formosa, and Its Bisexual Ancestors JF - PLoS one N2 - The all-female Amazon molly (Poecilia formosa) originated from a single hybridization of two bisexual ancestors, Atlantic molly (Poecilia mexicana) and sailfin molly (Poecilia latipinna). As a gynogenetic species, the Amazon molly needs to copulate with a heterospecific male, but the genetic information of the sperm-donor does not contribute to the next generation, as the sperm only acts as the trigger for the diploid eggs’ embryogenesis. Here, we study the sequence evolution and gene expression of the duplicated genes coding for androgen receptors (ars) and other pathway-related genes, i.e., the estrogen receptors (ers) and cytochrome P450, family19, subfamily A, aromatase genes (cyp19as), in the Amazon molly, in comparison to its bisexual ancestors. Mollies possess–as most other teleost fish—two copies of the ar, er, and cyp19a genes, i.e., arα/arβ, erα/erβ1, and cyp19a1 (also referred as cyp19a1a)/cyp19a2 (also referred to as cyp19a1b), respectively. Non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) among the ancestral bisexual species were generally predicted not to alter protein function. Some derived substitutions in the P. mexicana and one in P. formosa are predicted to impact protein function. We also describe the gene expression pattern of the ars and pathway-related genes in various tissues (i.e., brain, gill, and ovary) and provide SNP markers for allele specific expression research. As a general tendency, the levels of gene expression were lowest in gill and highest in ovarian tissues, while expression levels in the brain were intermediate in most cases. Expression levels in P. formosa were conserved where expression did not differ between the two bisexual ancestors. In those cases where gene expression levels significantly differed between the bisexual species, P. formosa expression was always comparable to the higher expression level among the two ancestors. Interestingly, erβ1 was expressed neither in brain nor in gill in the analyzed three molly species, which implies a more important role of erα in the estradiol synthesis pathway in these tissues. Furthermore, our data suggest that interactions of steroid-signaling pathway genes differ across tissues, in particular the interactions of ars and cyp19as. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/JOURNAL.PONE.0156209 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 11 IS - 6 PB - PLoS CY - Lawrence, Kan. ER - TY - GEN A1 - Zhu, Fangjun A1 - Schlupp, Ingo A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Sequence Evolution and Expression of the Androgen Receptor and Other Pathway-Related Genes in a Unisexual Fish, the Amazon Molly, Poecilia formosa, and Its Bisexual Ancestors N2 - The all-female Amazon molly (Poecilia formosa) originated from a single hybridization of two bisexual ancestors, Atlantic molly (Poecilia mexicana) and sailfin molly (Poecilia latipinna). As a gynogenetic species, the Amazon molly needs to copulate with a heterospecific male, but the genetic information of the sperm-donor does not contribute to the next generation, as the sperm only acts as the trigger for the diploid eggs’ embryogenesis. Here, we study the sequence evolution and gene expression of the duplicated genes coding for androgen receptors (ars) and other pathway-related genes, i.e., the estrogen receptors (ers) and cytochrome P450, family19, subfamily A, aromatase genes (cyp19as), in the Amazon molly, in comparison to its bisexual ancestors. Mollies possess–as most other teleost fish—two copies of the ar, er, and cyp19a genes, i.e., arα/arβ, erα/erβ1, and cyp19a1 (also referred as cyp19a1a)/cyp19a2 (also referred to as cyp19a1b), respectively. Non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) among the ancestral bisexual species were generally predicted not to alter protein function. Some derived substitutions in the P. mexicana and one in P. formosa are predicted to impact protein function. We also describe the gene expression pattern of the ars and pathway-related genes in various tissues (i.e., brain, gill, and ovary) and provide SNP markers for allele specific expression research. As a general tendency, the levels of gene expression were lowest in gill and highest in ovarian tissues, while expression levels in the brain were intermediate in most cases. Expression levels in P. formosa were conserved where expression did not differ between the two bisexual ancestors. In those cases where gene expression levels significantly differed between the bisexual species, P. formosa expression was always comparable to the higher expression level among the two ancestors. Interestingly, erβ1 was expressed neither in brain nor in gill in the analyzed three molly species, which implies a more important role of erα in the estradiol synthesis pathway in these tissues. Furthermore, our data suggest that interactions of steroid-signaling pathway genes differ across tissues, in particular the interactions of ars and cyp19as. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 265 Y1 - 2016 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-97119 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Stiegler, Jonas A1 - Kiemel, Katrin A1 - Eccard, Jana A1 - Fischer, Christina A1 - Hering, Robert A1 - Ortmann, Sylvia A1 - Strigl, Lea A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Seed traits matter BT - Endozoochoric dispersal through a pervasive mobile linker JF - Ecology and Evolution N2 - Although many plants are dispersed by wind and seeds can travel long distances across unsuitable matrix areas, a large proportion relies on co-evolved zoochorous seed dispersal to connect populations in isolated habitat islands. Particularly in agricultural landscapes, where remaining habitat patches are often very small and highly isolated, mobile linkers as zoochorous seed dispersers are critical for the population dynamics of numerous plant species. However, knowledge about the quali- or quantification of such mobile link processes, especially in agricultural landscapes, is still limited. In a controlled feeding experiment, we recorded the seed intake and germination success after complete digestion by the European brown hare (Lepus europaeus) and explored its mobile link potential as an endozoochoric seed disperser. Utilizing a suite of common, rare, and potentially invasive plant species, we disentangled the effects of seed morphological traits on germination success while controlling for phylogenetic relatedness. Further, we measured the landscape connectivity via hares in two contrasting agricultural landscapes (simple: few natural and semi-natural structures, large fields; complex: high amount of natural and semi-natural structures, small fields) using GPS-based movement data. With 34,710 seeds of 44 plant species fed, one of 200 seeds (0.51%) with seedlings of 33 species germinated from feces. Germination after complete digestion was positively related to denser seeds with comparatively small surface area and a relatively slender and elongated shape, suggesting that, for hares, the most critical seed characteristics for successful endozoochorous seed dispersal minimize exposure of the seed to the stomach and the associated digestive system. Furthermore, we could show that a hare's retention time is long enough to interconnect different habitats, especially grasslands and fields. Thus, besides other seed dispersal mechanisms, this most likely allows hares to act as effective mobile linkers contributing to ecosystem stability in times of agricultural intensification, not only in complex but also in simple landscapes. KW - agricultural landscapes KW - endozoochory KW - Lepus europaeus KW - mobile links KW - seed dispersal KW - seed dispersal syndrome Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8440 SN - 2045-7758 VL - 11 IS - 24 SP - 18477 EP - 18491 PB - John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ER - TY - GEN A1 - Stiegler, Jonas A1 - Kiemel, Katrin A1 - Eccard, Jana A1 - Fischer, Christina A1 - Hering, Robert A1 - Ortmann, Sylvia A1 - Strigl, Lea A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Seed traits matter BT - Endozoochoric dispersal through a pervasive mobile linker T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Although many plants are dispersed by wind and seeds can travel long distances across unsuitable matrix areas, a large proportion relies on co-evolved zoochorous seed dispersal to connect populations in isolated habitat islands. Particularly in agricultural landscapes, where remaining habitat patches are often very small and highly isolated, mobile linkers as zoochorous seed dispersers are critical for the population dynamics of numerous plant species. However, knowledge about the quali- or quantification of such mobile link processes, especially in agricultural landscapes, is still limited. In a controlled feeding experiment, we recorded the seed intake and germination success after complete digestion by the European brown hare (Lepus europaeus) and explored its mobile link potential as an endozoochoric seed disperser. Utilizing a suite of common, rare, and potentially invasive plant species, we disentangled the effects of seed morphological traits on germination success while controlling for phylogenetic relatedness. Further, we measured the landscape connectivity via hares in two contrasting agricultural landscapes (simple: few natural and semi-natural structures, large fields; complex: high amount of natural and semi-natural structures, small fields) using GPS-based movement data. With 34,710 seeds of 44 plant species fed, one of 200 seeds (0.51%) with seedlings of 33 species germinated from feces. Germination after complete digestion was positively related to denser seeds with comparatively small surface area and a relatively slender and elongated shape, suggesting that, for hares, the most critical seed characteristics for successful endozoochorous seed dispersal minimize exposure of the seed to the stomach and the associated digestive system. Furthermore, we could show that a hare's retention time is long enough to interconnect different habitats, especially grasslands and fields. Thus, besides other seed dispersal mechanisms, this most likely allows hares to act as effective mobile linkers contributing to ecosystem stability in times of agricultural intensification, not only in complex but also in simple landscapes. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 1229 KW - agricultural landscapes KW - endozoochory KW - Lepus europaeus KW - mobile links KW - seed dispersal KW - seed dispersal syndrome Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-544265 SN - 1866-8372 SP - 18477 EP - 18491 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Stiegler, Jonas A1 - Kiemel, Katrin A1 - Eccard, Jana A1 - Fischer, Christina A1 - Hering, Robert A1 - Ortmann, Sylvia A1 - Strigl, Lea A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Ullmann, Wiebke A1 - Blaum, Niels T1 - Seed traits matter BT - endozoochoric dispersal through a pervasive mobile linker JF - Ecology and evolution N2 - Although many plants are dispersed by wind and seeds can travel long distances across unsuitable matrix areas, a large proportion relies on co-evolved zoochorous seed dispersal to connect populations in isolated habitat islands. Particularly in agricultural landscapes, where remaining habitat patches are often very small and highly isolated, mobile linkers as zoochorous seed dispersers are critical for the population dynamics of numerous plant species. However, knowledge about the quali- or quantification of such mobile link processes, especially in agricultural landscapes, is still limited. In a controlled feeding experiment, we recorded the seed intake and germination success after complete digestion by the European brown hare (Lepus europaeus) and explored its mobile link potential as an endozoochoric seed disperser. Utilizing a suite of common, rare, and potentially invasive plant species, we disentangled the effects of seed morphological traits on germination success while controlling for phylogenetic relatedness. Further, we measured the landscape connectivity via hares in two contrasting agricultural landscapes (simple: few natural and semi-natural structures, large fields; complex: high amount of natural and semi-natural structures, small fields) using GPS-based movement data. With 34,710 seeds of 44 plant species fed, one of 200 seeds (0.51%) with seedlings of 33 species germinated from feces. Germination after complete digestion was positively related to denser seeds with comparatively small surface area and a relatively slender and elongated shape, suggesting that, for hares, the most critical seed characteristics for successful endozoochorous seed dispersal minimize exposure of the seed to the stomach and the associated digestive system. Furthermore, we could show that a hare's retention time is long enough to interconnect different habitats, especially grasslands and fields. Thus, besides other seed dispersal mechanisms, this most likely allows hares to act as effective mobile linkers contributing to ecosystem stability in times of agricultural intensification, not only in complex but also in simple landscapes. KW - agricultural landscapes KW - endozoochory KW - Lepus europaeus KW - mobile links KW - seed dispersal KW - seed dispersal syndrome Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8440 SN - 2045-7758 VL - 11 IS - 24 SP - 18477 EP - 18491 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gessner, Jörn A1 - Arndt, Gerd-Michael A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Bartel, Ryszard A1 - Kirschbaum, Frank T1 - Remediation measures for the Baltic sturgeon: status review and perspectives JF - Journal of applied ichthyology N2 - More than one century ago, sturgeons were prevalent species in the fish communities of all major German rivers both in the North and the Baltic seas drainages. Since then, the populations declined rapidly due to river damming, overfishing and pollution. The last sturgeon catches in the Baltic drainage system occurred during the late 1960ies. Only a few individual captures have been reported during the last 30 years with the most recent records in the Lake Ladoga ( Russia), where the last confirmed catch was recorded in 1984, and a single individual caught off Estonia in 1996. Today, sturgeons are considered missing or extinct in German waters. First attempts for remediation of the species were undertaken in the mid 1990ies. Subsequently, phylogenetic and population genetic analyses of the species were carried out using mtDNA, microsatellites, and nuclear markers ( SNPs). These genetic analyses using recent and historic material have proven the existence of two different species in the Baltic Sea in what was previously considered to represent the European Atlantic sturgeon only. In the Baltic Sea, the American Atlantic sturgeon ( A. oxyrinchus) succeeded to colonize this brackish water system during the Middle Ages. In the North Sea, the European Atlantic sturgeon ( A. sturio) is considered to be the endemic species. These results led to the separation of the remediation activities in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea tributaries. Further studies on the mechanism that lead to the extinction of A. sturio in Germany and the subsequent succession of the A. oxyrinchus mtDNA haplotype are currently been carried out. Broodstock development using the northernmost populations of A. oxyrinchus is currently under way. As a further prerequisite to re-introduce this species into the Baltic, the evaluation of the status of critical habitats for the early life stages of the American Atlantic sturgeon in the River Odra has been performed in collaboration with the Institute for Inland Fisheries of Poland. Alternative fisheries techniques, based on the data of by-catch of exotic sturgeons in the fishery, are presently developed in close cooperation with the fishery to reduce fisheries related mortality in juvenile sturgeons upon release. Monitoring of habitat utilization and migration characteristics of juvenile fish upon experimental release will have to be carried out shortly, using acoustic telemetry, with the aim to follow the fate of the released fish and to determine the best time-size-release-window for future release programmes. Y1 - 2007 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0426.2007.00925.x SN - 0175-8659 VL - 22 IS - S1 SP - 23 EP - 31 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Milinkovitch, Michel C. A1 - Kanitz, Ricardo A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Tapia, Washington A1 - Llerena, Fausto A1 - Caccone, Adalgisa A1 - Gibbs, James P. A1 - Powell, Jeffrey R. T1 - Recovery of a nearly extinct Galapagos tortoise despite minimal genetic variation JF - Evolutionary applications N2 - A species of Galapagos tortoise endemic to Espanola Island was reduced to just 12 females and three males that have been bred in captivity since 1971 and have produced over 1700 offspring now repatriated to the island. Our molecular genetic analyses of juveniles repatriated to and surviving on the island indicate that none of the tortoises sampled in 1994 had hatched on the island versus 3% in 2004 and 24% in 2007, which demonstrates substantial and increasing reproduction in situ once again. This recovery occurred despite the parental population having an estimated effective population size <8 due to a combination of unequal reproductive success of the breeders and nonrandom mating in captivity. These results provide guidelines for adapting breeding regimes in the parental captive population and decreasing inbreeding in the repatriated population. Using simple morphological data scored on the sampled animals, we also show that a strongly heterogeneous distribution of tortoise sizes on Espanola Island observed today is due to a large variance in the number of animals included in yearly repatriation events performed in the last 40years. Our study reveals that, at least in the short run, some endangered species can recover dramatically despite a lack of genetic variation and irregular repatriation efforts. KW - captive populations KW - conservation biology KW - conservation genetics Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.12014 SN - 1752-4571 VL - 6 IS - 2 SP - 377 EP - 383 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken ER - TY - GEN A1 - Autenrieth, Marijke A1 - Ernst, Anja A1 - Deaville, Rob A1 - Demaret, Fabien A1 - Ijsseldijk, Lonneke L. A1 - Siebert, Ursula A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Putative origin and maternal relatedness of male sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) recently stranded in the North Sea T2 - Mammalian biology = Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde N2 - The globally distributed sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) has a partly matrilineal social structure with predominant male dispersal. At the beginning of 2016, a total of 30 male sperm whales stranded in five different countries bordering the southern North Sea. It has been postulated that these individuals were on a migration route from the north to warmer temperate and tropical waters where females live in social groups. By including samples from four countries (n = 27), this event provided a unique chance to genetically investigate the maternal relatedness and the putative origin of these temporally and spatially co-occuring male sperm whales. To utilize existing genetic resources, we sequenced 422 bp of the mitochondrial control region, a molecular marker for which sperm whale data are readily available from the entire distribution range. Based on four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the mitochondrial control region, five matrilines could be distinguished within the stranded specimens, four of which matched published haplotypes previously described in the Atlantic. Among these male sperm whales, multiple matrilineal lineages co-occur. We analyzed the population differentiation and could show that the genetic diversity of these male sperm whales is comparable to the genetic diversity in sperm whales from the entire Atlantic Ocean. We confirm that within this stranding event, males do not comprise maternally related individuals and apparently include assemblages of individuals from different geographic regions. (c) 2017 Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Saugetierkunde. Published by Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved. KW - Mitochondrial DNA KW - Maternal relationships KW - Population genetics KW - Migration KW - Marine mammals Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mambio.2017.09.003 SN - 1616-5047 SN - 1618-1476 VL - 88 SP - 156 EP - 160 PB - Elsevier CY - München ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Dolgener, Nicola A1 - Freudenberger, L. A1 - Schneeweiss, N. A1 - Ibisch, P. L. A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Projecting current and potential future distribution of the Fire-bellied toad Bombina bombina under climate change in north-eastern Germany JF - Regional environmental change N2 - Environmental change is likely to have a strong impact on biodiversity, and many species may shift their distribution in response. In this study, we aimed at projecting the availability of suitable habitat for an endangered amphibian species, the Fire-bellied toad Bombina bombina, in Brandenburg (north-eastern Germany). We modelled a potential habitat distribution map based on (1) a database with 10,581 presence records for Bombina from the years 1990 to 2009, (2) current estimates for ecogeographical variables (EGVs) and (3) the future projection of these EGVs according to the statistical regional model, respectively, the soil and water integrated model, applying the maximum entropy approach (Maxent). By comparing current and potential future distributions, we evaluated the projected change in distribution of suitable habitats and identified the environmental variables most associated with habitat suitability that turned out to be climatic variables related to the hydrological cycle. Under the applied scenario, our results indicate increasing habitat suitability in many areas and an extended range of suitable habitats. However, even if the environmental conditions in Brandenburg may change as predicted, it is questionable whether the Fire-bellied toad will truly benefit, as dispersal abilities of amphibian species are limited and strongly influenced by anthropogenic disturbances, that is, intensive agriculture, habitat destruction and fragmentation. Furthermore, agronomic pressure is likely to increase on productive areas with fertile soils and high water retention capacities, indeed those areas suitable for B. bombina. All these changes may affect temporary pond hydrology as well as the reproductive success and breeding phenology of toads. KW - Brandenburg KW - Climate change KW - Distribution modelling KW - Endangered species KW - Fire-bellied toad KW - Maxent Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-013-0468-9 SN - 1436-3798 SN - 1436-378X VL - 14 IS - 3 SP - 1063 EP - 1072 PB - Springer CY - Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Silva-Iturriza, Adriana A1 - Ketmaier, Valerio A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Profound population structure in the Philippine Bulbul Hypsipetes philippinus (Pycnonotidae, Ayes) is not reflected in its Haemoproteus haemosporidian parasite JF - Infection, genetics and evolution : journal of molecular epidemiology and evolutionary genetics and infectious diseases (MEEGID) N2 - In this study we used molecular markers to screen for the occurrence and prevalence of the three most common haemosporidian genera (Haemoproteus, Plasmodium, and Leucocytozoon) in blood samples of the Philippine Bulbul (Hypsipetes philippinus), a thrush-size passerine bird endemic to the Philippine Archipelago. We then used molecular data to ask whether the phylogeographic patterns in this insular host-parasite system might follow similar evolutionary trajectories or not. We took advantage of a previous study describing the pattern of genetic structuring in the Philippine Bulbul across the Central Philippine Archipelago (6 islands, 7 populations and 58 individuals; three mitochondrial DNA genes). The very same birds were here screened for the occurrence of parasites by species-specific PCR assays of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene (471 base pairs). Twenty-eight out of the 58 analysed birds had Haemoproteus (48%) infections while just 2% of the birds were infected with either Leucocytozoon or Plasmodium. Sixteen of the 28 birds carrying Haemoproteus had multiple infections. The phylogeography of the Philippine Bulbul mostly reflects the geographical origin of samples and it is consistent with the occurrence of two different subspecies on (1) Semirara and (2) Carabao, Boracay, North Gigante, Panay, and Negros, respectively. Haemoproteus phylogeography shows very little geographical structure, suggesting extensive gene flow among locations. While movements of birds among islands seem very sporadic, we found co-occurring evolutionary divergent parasite lineages. We conclude that historical processes have played a major role in shaping the host phylogeography, while they have left no signature in that of the parasites. Here ongoing population processes, possibly multiple reinvasions mediated by other hosts, are predominant. KW - Haemoproteus KW - Hypsipetes philippinus KW - Comparative phylogeography KW - mtDNA Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.meegid.2011.10.024 SN - 1567-1348 VL - 12 IS - 1 SP - 127 EP - 136 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Taguchi, Mioko A1 - Goto, Mutsuo A1 - Matsuoka, Koji A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Pastene, Luis A. T1 - Population genetic structure of Bryde's whales (Balaenoptera brydei) on the central and western North Pacific feeding grounds JF - Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences N2 - The genetic structure of Bryde's whale (Balaenoptera brydei) on the central and western North Pacific feeding grounds was investigated using a total of 1195 mitochondrial control region sequences and 1182 microsatellite genotypes at 17 loci in specimens collected from three longitudinal areas, 1W (135 degrees E-165 degrees E), 1E (165 degrees E-180 degrees), and 2 (180 degrees-155 degrees W). Genetic diversities were similar among areas and a haplotype network did not show any geographic structure, while an analysis of molecular variance found evidence of genetic structure in this species. Pairwise FST and G'ST estimates and heterogeneity tests attributed this structure to weak but significant differentiation between areas 1W/1E and 2. A Mantel test and a high-resolution analysis of genetic diversity statistics showed a weak spatial cline of genetic differentiation. These findings could be reconciled by two possible stock structure scenarios: (1) a single population with kin-association affecting feeding ground preference and (2) two populations with feeding ground preference for either area 1W or area 2. An estimated dispersal rate between areas 1W and 2 indicates that both scenarios should be considered as a precautionary principle in stock assessments. KW - stock structure KW - stock assessment KW - fisheries management KW - conservation KW - cetacean Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2022-0005 SN - 0706-652X SN - 1205-7533 VL - 80 IS - 1 SP - 142 EP - 155 PB - Canadian science publishing CY - Ottawa ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Foerster, Verena A1 - Asrat, Asfawossen A1 - Ramsey, Christopher Bronk A1 - Brown, Erik T. A1 - Chapot, Melissa S. A1 - Deino, Alan A1 - Düsing, Walter A1 - Grove, Matthew A1 - Hahn, Annette A1 - Junginger, Annett A1 - Kaboth-Bahr, Stefanie A1 - Lane, Christine S. A1 - Opitz, Stephan A1 - Noren, Anders A1 - Roberts, Helen M. A1 - Stockhecke, Mona A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Vidal, Celine M. A1 - Vogelsang, Ralf A1 - Cohen, Andrew S. A1 - Lamb, Henry F. A1 - Schaebitz, Frank A1 - Trauth, Martin H. T1 - Pleistocene climate variability in eastern Africa influenced hominin evolution JF - Nature geoscience N2 - Despite more than half a century of hominin fossil discoveries in eastern Africa, the regional environmental context of hominin evolution and dispersal is not well established due to the lack of continuous palaeoenvironmental records from one of the proven habitats of early human populations, particularly for the Pleistocene epoch. Here we present a 620,000-year environmental record from Chew Bahir, southern Ethiopia, which is proximal to key fossil sites. Our record documents the potential influence of different episodes of climatic variability on hominin biological and cultural transformation. The appearance of high anatomical diversity in hominin groups coincides with long-lasting and relatively stable humid conditions from similar to 620,000 to 275,000 years bp (episodes 1-6), interrupted by several abrupt and extreme hydroclimate perturbations. A pattern of pronounced climatic cyclicity transformed habitats during episodes 7-9 (similar to 275,000-60,000 years bp), a crucial phase encompassing the gradual transition from Acheulean to Middle Stone Age technologies, the emergence of Homo sapiens in eastern Africa and key human social and cultural innovations. Those accumulative innovations plus the alignment of humid pulses between northeastern Africa and the eastern Mediterranean during high-frequency climate oscillations of episodes 10-12 (similar to 60,000-10,000 years bp) could have facilitated the global dispersal of H. sapiens. KW - Evolutionary ecology KW - Limnology KW - Palaeoclimate Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-022-01032-y SN - 1752-0894 SN - 1752-0908 VL - 15 IS - 10 SP - 805 EP - 811 PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - De Cahsan, Binia A1 - Nagel, Rebecca A1 - Schedina, Ina-Maria A1 - King, James J. A1 - Bianco, Pier G. A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Ketmaier, Valerio T1 - Phylogeography of the European brook lamprey (Lampetra planeri) and the European river lamprey (Lampetra fluviatilis) species pair based on mitochondrial data JF - Journal of fish biology N2 - The European river lamprey Lampetra fluviatilis and the European brook lamprey Lampetra planeri (Block 1784) are classified as a paired species, characterized by notably different life histories but morphological similarities. Previous work has further shown limited genetic differentiation between these two species at the mitochondrial DNA level. Here, we expand on this previous work, which focused on lamprey species from the Iberian Peninsula in the south and mainland Europe in the north, by sequencing three mitochondrial marker regions of Lampetra individuals from five river systems in Ireland and five in southern Italy. Our results corroborate the previously identified pattern of genetic diversity for the species pair. We also show significant genetic differentiation between Irish and mainland European lamprey populations, suggesting another ichthyogeographic district distinct from those previously defined. Finally, our results stress the importance of southern Italian L. planeri populations, which maintain several private alleles and notable genetic diversity. KW - European lamprey KW - Lampetra KW - paired species KW - phylogeography KW - population KW - structure Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.14279 SN - 0022-1112 SN - 1095-8649 VL - 96 IS - 4 SP - 905 EP - 912 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Oxford [u.a.] ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Struck, Torsten H. A1 - Paul, Christiane A1 - Hill, Natascha A1 - Hartmann, Stefanie A1 - Hoesel, Christoph A1 - Kube, Michael A1 - Lieb, Bernhard A1 - Meyer, Achim A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Purschke, Guenter A1 - Bleidorn, Christoph T1 - Phylogenomic analyses unravel annelid evolution JF - Nature : the international weekly journal of science N2 - Annelida, the ringed worms, is a highly diverse animal phylum that includes more than 15,000 described species and constitutes the dominant benthic macrofauna from the intertidal zone down to the deep sea. A robust annelid phylogeny would shape our understanding of animal body-plan evolution and shed light on the bilaterian ground pattern. Traditionally, Annelida has been split into two major groups: Clitellata (earthworms and leeches) and polychaetes (bristle worms), but recent evidence suggests that other taxa that were once considered to be separate phyla (Sipuncula, Echiura and Siboglinidae (also known as Pogonophora)) should be included in Annelida(1-4). However, the deep-level evolutionary relationships of Annelida are still poorly understood, and a robust reconstruction of annelid evolutionary history is needed. Here we show that phylogenomic analyses of 34 annelid taxa, using 47,953 amino acid positions, recovered a well-supported phylogeny with strong support for major splits. Our results recover chaetopterids, myzostomids and sipunculids in the basal part of the tree, although the position of Myzostomida remains uncertain owing to its long branch. The remaining taxa are split into two clades: Errantia (which includes the model annelid Platynereis), and Sedentaria (which includes Clitellata). Ancestral character trait reconstructions indicate that these clades show adaptation to either an errant or a sedentary lifestyle, with alteration of accompanying morphological traits such as peristaltic movement, parapodia and sensory perception. Finally, life history characters in Annelida seem to be phylogenetically informative. Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/nature09864 SN - 0028-0836 VL - 471 IS - 7336 SP - 95 EP - U113 PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bonizzoni, Mariangela A1 - Bourjea, Jerome A1 - Chen, Bin A1 - Crain, B. J. A1 - Cui, Liwang A1 - Fiorentino, V. A1 - Hartmann, Stefanie A1 - Hendricks, S. A1 - Ketmaier, Valerio A1 - Ma, Xiaoguang A1 - Muths, Delphine A1 - Pavesi, Laura A1 - Pfautsch, Simone A1 - Rieger, M. A. A1 - Santonastaso, T. A1 - Sattabongkot, Jetsumon A1 - Taron, C. H. A1 - Taron, D. J. A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Yan, Guiyun A1 - Zheng, Bin A1 - Zhong, Daibin T1 - Permanent genetic resources added to molecular ecology resources database 1 April 2011-31 May 2011 JF - Molecular ecology resources N2 - This article documents the addition of 92 microsatellite marker loci to the Molecular Ecology Resources Database. Loci were developed for the following species: Anopheles minimus, An. sinensis, An. dirus, Calephelis mutica, Lutjanus kasmira, Murella muralis and Orchestia montagui. These loci were cross-tested on the following species: Calephelis arizonensi, Calephelis borealis, Calephelis nemesis, Calephelis virginiensis and Lutjanus bengalensis. Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1755-0998.2011.03046.x SN - 1755-098X VL - 11 IS - 5 SP - 935 EP - 936 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Malden ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wiesner, Kerstin R. A1 - Loxdale, Hugh D. A1 - Köhler, Günter A1 - Schneider, Anja R. R. A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Weisser, Wolfgang W. T1 - Patterns of local and regional genetic structuring in the meadow grasshopper, Chorthippus parallelus (Orthoptera: Acrididae), in Central Germany revealed using microsatellite markers JF - Biological journal of the Linnean Society : a journal of evolution N2 - The meadow grasshopper, Chorthippus parallelus (Zetterstedt), is common and widespread in Central Europe, with a low dispersal range per generation. A population study in Central Germany (Frankenwald and Thuringer Schiefergebirge) showed strong interpopulation differences in abundance and individual fitness. We examined genetic variability using microsatellite markers within and between 22 populations in a short-to long-distance sampling (19 populations, Frankenwald, Schiefergebirge, as well as a southern transect), and in the Erzgebirge region (three populations), with the latter aiming to check for effects as a result of historical forest cover. Of the 671 C. parallelus captured, none was macropterous (functionally winged). All populations showed a high level of expected and observed heterozygosity (mean 0.80-0.90 and 0.60-0.75, respectively), whereas there was evidence of inbreeding (F(IS) values all positive). Allelic richness for all locus-population combinations was high (mean 9.3-11.2), whereas alleles per locus ranged from 15-62. At a local level, genic and genotypic differences were significant. Pairwise F(ST) values were in the range 0.00-0.04, indicating little interpopulation genetic differentiation. Similarly, the calculated gene flow was very high, based on the respective F(ST) (19.5) and using private alleles (7.7). A Neighbour-joining tree using Nei's D(A) and principal coordinate analysis separated two populations that were collected in the Erzgebirge region. Populations from this region may have escaped the effects of the historical forest cover. The visualization of the spatial arrangement of genotypes revealed one geographical barrier to gene flow in the short-distance sampling. KW - adaptation KW - gene flow KW - diversity KW - landscape structure KW - wing polyphenism Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8312.2011.01698.x SN - 0024-4066 VL - 103 IS - 4 SP - 875 EP - 890 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Malden ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Korniienko, Yevheniia A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Vater, Marianne A1 - Kirschbaum, Frank T1 - Ontogeny of the electric organ discharge and of the papillae of the electrocytes in the weakly electric fish Campylomormyrus rhynchophorus (Teleostei: Mormyridae) JF - The journal of comparative neurology N2 - The electric organ of the mormyrid weakly electric fish,Campylomormyrus rhynchophorus(Boulenger, 1898), undergoes changes in both the electric organ discharge (EOD) and the light and electron microscopic morphology as the fish mature from the juvenile to the adult form. Of particular interest was the appearance of papillae, surface specializations of the uninnervated anterior face of the electrocyte, which have been hypothesized to increase the duration of the EOD. In a 24.5 mm long juvenile the adult electric organ (EO) was not yet functional, and the electrocytes lacked papillae. A 40 mm long juvenile, which produced a short biphasic EOD of 1.3 ms duration, shows small papillae (average area 136 mu m(2)). In contrast, the EOD of a 79 mm long juvenile was triphasic. The large increase in duration of the EOD to 23.2 ms was accompanied by a small change in size of the papillae (average area 159 mu m(2)). Similarly, a 150 mm long adult produced a triphasic EOD of comparable duration to the younger stage (24.7 ms) but featured a prominent increase in size of the papillae (average area 402 mu m(2)). Thus, there was no linear correlation between EOD duration and papillary size. The most prominent ultrastructural change was at the level of the myofilaments, which regularly extended into the papillae, only in the oldest specimen-probably serving a supporting function. Physiological mechanisms, like gene expression levels, as demonstrated in someCampylomormyrusspecies, might be more important concerning the duration of the EOD. KW - Campylomormyrus KW - electric organ discharge KW - electrocyte ontogeny KW - electrocyte ultrastructure KW - papillae Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/cne.25003 SN - 0021-9967 SN - 1096-9861 VL - 529 IS - 5 SP - 1052 EP - 1065 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Nguyen, Manh Duy Linh A1 - Mamonekene, Victor A1 - Vater, Marianne A1 - Bartsch, Peter A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Kirschbaum, Frank T1 - Ontogeny of electric organ and electric organ discharge in Campylomormyrus rhynchophorus (Teleostei: Mormyridae) JF - Journal of comparative physiology; A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology N2 - The aim of this study was a longitudinal description of the ontogeny of the adult electric organ of Campylomormyrus rhynchophorus which produces as adult an electric organ discharge of very long duration (ca. 25 ms). We could indeed show (for the first time in a mormyrid fish) that the electric organ discharge which is first produced early during ontogeny in 33-mm-long juveniles is much shorter in duration and has a different shape than the electric organ discharge in 15-cm-long adults. The change from this juvenile electric organ discharges into the adult electric organ discharge takes at least a year. The increase in electric organ discharge duration could be causally linked to the development of surface evaginations, papillae, at the rostral face of the electrocyte which are recognizable for the first time in 65-mm-long juveniles and are most prominent at the periphery of the electrocyte. KW - Weakly electric fish KW - Development KW - Electric organ discharge KW - Electric KW - organ KW - Electrocyte features Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-020-01411-z SN - 0340-7594 SN - 1432-1351 VL - 206 IS - 3 SP - 453 EP - 466 PB - Springer CY - Berlin ; Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bleidorn, Christoph A1 - Hill, Natascha A1 - Erséus, Christer A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - On the role of character loss in orbiniid phylogeny (Annelida) : molecules vs. morphology N2 - Orbiniid phylogeny is matter of debate and incongruence between hypothesis based on molecules and morphology has been repeatedly reported. Moreover, the phylogenetic position of the "oligochaetoid polychaetes" of the taxon Questa varies between morphological and molecular cladistic analyses. Here, we present a nearly complete mitochondrial genome of Questa ersei. The mitochondrial gene order is roughly identical to known orbiniid taxa. Several translocations of tRNAs are unique to Orbiniidae and Questa when compared to other annelid mitochondrial genomes. Additionally, we assembled sequence data of six genes (18S, 16S, cox1, cox3, nad1, nad4) for a representative orbiniid taxon sampling and analysed all data in concatenation using Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian inference. For comparison with morphology we compiled a morphological data matrix for all taxa included in our molecular analyses. Our results strongly support a close relationship of Questa with orbiniids (sequence data, gene order, an 18 bp indel, morphology), and a position nested within orbiniids is recovered in our sequence based analyses. We demonstrate remarkable incongruence of most included morphological characters with the recovered best ML tree and suppose that repeated independent character loss might be an explanation. Y1 - 2009 UR - http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/10557903 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2009.03.022 SN - 1055-7903 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Bleidorn, Christoph A1 - Podsiadlowski, Lars A1 - Zhong, Min A1 - Eeckhaut, Igor A1 - Hartmann, Stefanie A1 - Halanych, Kenneth M. A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - On the phylogenetic position of Myzostomida : can 77 genes get it wrong? N2 - Background: Phylogenomic analyses recently became popular to address questions about deep metazoan phylogeny. Ribosomal proteins (RP) dominate many of these analyses or are, in some cases, the only genes included. Despite initial hopes, hylogenomic analyses including tens to hundreds of genes still fail to robustly place many bilaterian taxa. Results: Using the phylogenetic position of myzostomids as an example, we show that phylogenies derived from RP genes and mitochondrial genes produce incongruent results. Whereas the former support a position within a clade of platyzoan taxa, mitochondrial data recovers an annelid affinity, which is strongly supported by the gene order data and is congruent with morphology. Using hypothesis testing, our RP data significantly rejects the annelids affinity, whereas a platyzoan relationship is significantly rejected by the mitochondrial data. Conclusion: We conclude (i) that reliance of a set of markers belonging to a single class of macromolecular complexes might bias the analysis, and (ii) that concatenation of all available data might introduce conflicting signal into phylogenetic analyses. We therefore strongly recommend testing for data incongruence in phylogenomic analyses. Furthermore, judging all available data, we consider the annelid affinity hypothesis more plausible than a possible platyzoan affinity for myzostomids, and suspect long branch attraction is influencing the RP data. However, this hypothesis needs further confirmation by future analyses. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - paper 123 KW - Cirriferum myzostomida KW - Mitochondrial genomes KW - Transfer-rna KW - Data sets KW - Sequence Y1 - 2009 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-44893 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schröder, Christiane A1 - Bleidorn, Christoph A1 - Hartmann, Stefanie A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Occurrence of Can-SINEs and intron sequence evolution supports robust phylogeny of pinniped carnivores and their terrestrial relatives N2 - Investigating the dog genome we found 178965 introns with a moderate length of 200-1000 bp. A screening of these sequences against 23 different repeat libraries to find insertions of short interspersed elements (SINEs) detected 45276 SINEs. Virtually all of these SINEs (98%) belong to the tRNA-derived Can-SINE family. Can-SINEs arose about 55 million years ago before Carnivora split into two basal groups, the Caniformia (doglike carnivores) and the Feliformia (cat-like carnivores). Genome comparisons of dog and cat recovered 506 putatively informative SINE loci for caniformian phylogeny. In this study we show how to use such genome information of model organisms to research the phylogeny of related non-model species of interest. Investigating a dataset including representatives of all major caniformian lineages, we analysed 24 randomly chosen loci for 22 taxa. All loci were amplifiable and revealed 17 parsimony- informative SINE insertions. The screening for informative SINE insertions yields a large amount of sequence information, in particular of introns, which contain reliable phylogenetic information as well. A phylogenetic analysis of intron- and SINE sequence data provided a statistically robust phylogeny which is congruent with the absence/presence pattern of our SINE markers. This phylogeny strongly supports a sistergroup relationship of Musteloidea and Pinnipedia. Within Pinnipedia, we see strong support from bootstrapping and the presence of a SINE insertion for a sistergroup relationship of the walrus with the Otariidae. Y1 - 2009 UR - http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/03781119 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gene.2009.06.012 SN - 0378-1119 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Di Giacomo, Adrian S. A1 - Di Giacomo, Alejandro G. A1 - Kliger, Rafi A1 - Reboreda, Juan C. A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Mahler, Bettina T1 - No evidence of genetic variation in microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA markers among remaining populations of the Strange-tailed Tyrant Alectrurus risora, an endangered grassland species JF - Bird conservation international N2 - The Strange-tailed Tyrant Alectrurus risora (Aves: Tyrannidae) is an endemic species of southern South American grasslands that suffered a 90% reduction of its original distribution due to habitat transformation. This has led the species to be classified as globally Vulnerable. By the beginning of the last century, populations were partially migratory and moved south during the breeding season. Currently, the main breeding population inhabits the Ibera wetlands in the province of Corrientes, north-east Argentina, where it is resident all year round. There are two remaining small populations in the province of Formosa, north-east Argentina, and in southern Paraguay, which are separated from the main population by the Parana-Paraguay River and its continuous riverine forest habitat. The populations of Corrientes and Formosa are separated by 300 km and the grasslands between populations are non-continuous due to habitat transformation. We used mtDNA sequences and eight microsatellite loci to test if there were evidences of genetic isolation between Argentinean populations. We found no evidence of genetic structure between populations (Phi(ST) = 0.004, P = 0.32; Fst = 0.01, P = 0.06), which can be explained by either retained ancestral polymorphism or by dispersal between populations. We found no evidence for a recent demographic bottleneck in nuclear loci. Our results indicate that these populations could be managed as a single conservation unit on a regional scale. Conservation actions should be focused on preserving the remaining network of areas with natural grasslands to guarantee reproduction, dispersal and prevent further decline of populations. Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1017/S0959270914000203 SN - 0959-2709 SN - 1474-0001 VL - 25 IS - 2 SP - 127 EP - 138 PB - Cambridge Univ. Press CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Moll, K. A1 - Paulus, Kirsten B. A1 - Schlupp, Ingo T1 - New microsatellite loci confirm hybrid origin, parthenogenetic inheritance, and mitotic gene conversion in the gynogenetic Amazon molly (Poecilia formosa) N2 - We describe the first microsatellite loci for the gynogenetic Amazon molly, Poecilia formosa, an all-female species arisen through hybridization of the bisexual species Poecilia mexicana and Poecilia latipinna. The loci showed one to six alleles and an expected heterozygosity between zero and 0.75. As expected with parthenogenetic inheritance, most loci were either constantly homozygous (five loci) or constantly heterozygous (eight loci). For six loci, both heterozygotes and homozygotes occurred. This and the fact that some loci only showed alleles of one of the ancestral species could indicate genome homogenization through mitotic gene conversion. Our new loci conformed to the hybrid origin of Amazon molly and are also applicable to both ancestral bisexual species Y1 - 2005 SN - 1471-8278 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Colangeli, Pierluigi A1 - Schlägel, Ulrike E. A1 - Obertegger, Ulrike A1 - Petermann, Jana S. A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Weithoff, Guntram T1 - Negative phototactic response to UVR in three cosmopolitan rotifers: a video analysis approach JF - Hydrobiologia : acta hydrobiologica, hydrographica, limnologica et protistologica KW - Risk avoidance behavior KW - Brachionus calyciflorus KW - Keratella cochlearis KW - BEMOVI KW - Movement ecology Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-018-3801-y SN - 0018-8158 SN - 1573-5117 VL - 844 IS - 1 SP - 43 EP - 54 PB - Springer CY - Dordrecht ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Girndt, Antje A1 - Riesch, Rüdiger A1 - Schröder, Christiane A1 - Sehlupp, Ingo A1 - Plath, Martin A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Multiple paternity in different populations of the sailfin molly, Poecilia latipinna JF - Animal biology N2 - Rates of multiple paternities were investigated in the sailfin molly (Poecilia latipinna), using eight microsatellite loci. Genotyping was performed for offspring and mothers in 40 broods from four allopatric populations from the south-eastern U.S.A. along a geographic stretch of 1200 km in west-east direction and approximately 200 km from north to south. No significant differences regarding rates of multiple paternities were found between populations despite sample populations stemming from ecologically divergent habitats. Even the most conservative statistical approach revealed a minimum of 70% of the broods being sired by at least two males, with an average of 1.80-2.95 putative fathers per brood. Within broods, one male typically sired far more offspring than would be expected under an assumed equal probability of all detected males siring offspring. KW - Promiscuity KW - mate choice KW - multiple paternity KW - sperm competition KW - Poeciliidae Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1163/157075611X618192 SN - 1570-7555 VL - 62 IS - 3 SP - 245 EP - 262 PB - Brill CY - Leiden ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Sharma, Reeta A1 - Stuckas, Heiko A1 - Bhaskar, Ranjana A1 - Rajput, Sandeep A1 - Khan, Imran A1 - Goyal, Surendra Prakash A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - mtDNA indicates profound population structure in Indian tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) N2 - We analyzed mtDNA polymorphisms (parts of control region, ND5, ND2, Cytb, 12S, together 902 bp) in 59 scat and 18 tissue samples from 13 Indian populations of the critically endangered Indian tiger (Panthera tigris tigris), along with zoo animals as reference. Northern tiger populations exhibit two unique haplotypes suggesting genetic isolation. Western populations from Sariska (extinct in 2004) and Ranthambore are genetically similar, such that Ranthambore could serve as a source for reintroduction in Sariska. Zoo populations maintain mitochondrial lineages that are rare or absent in the wild. Y1 - 2009 UR - http://www.springerlink.com/content/105709 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-008-9568-3 SN - 1566-0621 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Amen, Rahma A1 - Nagel, Rebecca A1 - Hedt, Maximilian A1 - Kirschbaum, Frank A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Morphological differentiation in African weakly electric fish (genus Campylomormyrus) relates to substrate preferences JF - Evolutionary Ecology N2 - Under an ecological speciation scenario, the radiation of African weakly electric fish (genus Campylomormyrus) is caused by an adaptation to different food sources, associated with diversification of the electric organ discharge (EOD). This study experimentally investigates a phenotype-environment correlation to further support this scenario. Our behavioural experiments showed that three sympatric Campylomormyrus species with significantly divergent snout morphology differentially react to variation in substrate structure. While the short snout species (C. tamandua) exhibits preference to sandy substrate, the long snout species (C. rhynchophorus) significantly prefers a stone substrate for feeding. A third species with intermediate snout size (C. compressirostris) does not exhibit any substrate preference. This preference is matched with the observation that long-snouted specimens probe deeper into the stone substrate, presumably enabling them to reach prey more distant to the substrate surface. These findings suggest that the diverse feeding apparatus in the genus Campylomormyrus may have evolved in adaptation to specific microhabitats, i.e., substrate structures where these fish forage. Whether the parallel divergence in EOD is functionally related to this adaptation or solely serves as a prezygotic isolation mechanism remains to be elucidated. KW - ecological speciation KW - feeding behaviour KW - electric fish KW - trophic apparatus KW - evolutionary ecology Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10682-020-10043-3 SN - 0269-7653 SN - 1573-8477 VL - 34 IS - 3 SP - 427 EP - 437 PB - Springer Science CY - Dordrecht ER - TY - GEN A1 - Amen, Rahma A1 - Nagel, Rebecca A1 - Hedt, Maximilian A1 - Kirschbaum, Frank A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Morphological differentiation in African weakly electric fish (genus Campylomormyrus) relates to substrate preferences T2 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Under an ecological speciation scenario, the radiation of African weakly electric fish (genus Campylomormyrus) is caused by an adaptation to different food sources, associated with diversification of the electric organ discharge (EOD). This study experimentally investigates a phenotype-environment correlation to further support this scenario. Our behavioural experiments showed that three sympatric Campylomormyrus species with significantly divergent snout morphology differentially react to variation in substrate structure. While the short snout species (C. tamandua) exhibits preference to sandy substrate, the long snout species (C. rhynchophorus) significantly prefers a stone substrate for feeding. A third species with intermediate snout size (C. compressirostris) does not exhibit any substrate preference. This preference is matched with the observation that long-snouted specimens probe deeper into the stone substrate, presumably enabling them to reach prey more distant to the substrate surface. These findings suggest that the diverse feeding apparatus in the genus Campylomormyrus may have evolved in adaptation to specific microhabitats, i.e., substrate structures where these fish forage. Whether the parallel divergence in EOD is functionally related to this adaptation or solely serves as a prezygotic isolation mechanism remains to be elucidated. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 1416 KW - ecological speciation KW - feeding behaviour KW - electric fish KW - trophic apparatus KW - evolutionary ecology Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-518714 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 3 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ravaoarimanana, I. B. A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Montagnon, D. A1 - Rumpler, Y. T1 - Molecular and cytogenetic evidence for cryptic speciation within a rare endemic Malagasy lemur, the Northern Sportive Lemur (Lepilemur septentrionalis) N2 - Evolutionary relationships of different populations of the threatened malagasy lemur Lepilemur septentrimialis were assessed by sequence analysis of mitochondrial DNA (D-loop region and partial Cyt b gene). One hundred and fifty nine samples were collected from five main different localities in the northern part of Madagascar. We applied the phylogenetic species concept based on fixed diagnostic differences to determine the status of different geographical populations. No nucleotide site diagnoses Ankarana from Andrafiamena or Analamera. However, numerous fixed differences separate Sahafary from all other populations. These results were corroborated by phylogenetic trees. As previous cytogenetic studies, our molecular data suggest that two cryptic species of Lepilemur occur in the extreme north of Madagascar. This speciation is probably caused by chromosomal rearrangements in at least one of the evolutionary lineages. Our study comprises another striking example of how molecular genetic assay can detect phylogenetic discontinuities that are not reflected in traditional morphologically based taxonomies. Our study indicates that the Sahafary population is a hitherto undescribed endangered endemic species which urgently needs conservation efforts. (C) 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved Y1 - 2004 SN - 1055-7903 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kiemel, Katrin A1 - De Cahsan, Binia A1 - Paraskevopoulou, Sofia A1 - Weithoff, Guntram A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Mitochondrial genomes of the freshwater monogonont rotifer Brachionus fernandoi and of two additional B. calyciflorus sensu stricto lineages from Germany and the USA (Rotifera, Brachionidae) JF - Mitochondrial DNA. Part B-Resources N2 - The Brachionus calyciflorus species complex was recently subdivided into four species, but genetic resources to resolve phylogenetic relationships within this complex are still lacking. We provide two complete mitochondrial (mt) genomes from B. calyciflorus sensu stricto (Germany, USA) and the mt coding sequences (cds) from a German B. fernandoi. Phylogenetic analysis placed our B. calyciflorus sensu stricto strains close to the published genomes of B. calyciflorus, forming the putative sister species to B. fernandoi. Global representatives of B. calyciflorus sensu stricto (i.e. Europe, USA, and China) are genetically closer related to each other than to B. fernandoi (average pairwise nucleotide diversity 0.079 intraspecific vs. 0.254 interspecific). KW - Mitogenome KW - cryptic species KW - Brachionus calyciflorus s KW - Brachionus KW - fernandoi KW - monogonont rotifer Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/23802359.2022.2060765 SN - 2380-2359 VL - 7 IS - 4 SP - 646 EP - 648 PB - Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group CY - Abingdon ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Silva-Iturriza, Adriana A1 - Ketmaier, Valerio A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Mitochondrial DNA suggests multiple colonizations of central Philippine islands (Boracay, Negros) by the sedentary Philippine bulbul Hypsipetes philippinus guimarasensis (Aves) N2 - In this study, we have used fragments of three mitochondrial genes (Control Region, CR; transfer RNA for methionine, tRNA-Met; NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2, ND2 for a total of 1066 bp) to reconstruct the phylogeographic history of the endemic Philippine bulbul (Hypsipetes philippinus) at the scale of the central area of the Philippine archipelago. The study includes two of the five recognized subspecies (guimarasensis and mindorensis), 7 populations and 58 individuals. Multiple phylogenetic and network analyses support the existence of two reciprocally monophyletic maternal lineages corresponding to the two named subspecies. Molecular clock estimates indicate that the split between the two subspecies is consistent with the Pleistocene geological history of the archipelago. Patterns of relationships within guimarasensis are biogeographically less clear. Here, a combination of vicariance and dispersal needs to be invoked to reconcile the molecular data with the geographical origin of samples. In particular, the two islands Boracay and Negros host mitochondrial lineages that do not form monophyletic clusters. Our genetic data suggest multiple independent colonization events for these locations. Y1 - 2010 UR - http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/issn?DESCRIPTOR=PRINTISSN&VALUE=0947-5745 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0469.2010.00566.x SN - 0947-5745 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ketmaier, Valerio A1 - Marrone, Federico A1 - Alfonso, Giuseppe A1 - Paulus, Kirsten B. A1 - Wiemann, Annika A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Mura, Graziella T1 - Mitochondrial DNA regionalism and historical demography in the extant populations of chirocephalus kerkyrensis (Branchiopoda: Anostraca) JF - PLoS one N2 - Background: Mediterranean temporary water bodies are important reservoirs of biodiversity and host a unique assemblage of diapausing aquatic invertebrates. These environments are currently vanishing because of increasing human pressure. Chirocephalus kerkyrensis is a fairy shrimp typical of temporary water bodies in Mediterranean plain forests and has undergone a substantial decline in number of populations in recent years due to habitat loss. We assessed patterns of genetic connectivity and phylogeographic history in the seven extant populations of the species from Albania, Corfu Is. (Greece), Southern and Central Italy. Methodology/Principal Findings: We analyzed sequence variation at two mitochondrial DNA genes (Cytochrome Oxidase I and 16s rRNA) in all the known populations of C. kerkyrensis. We used multiple phylogenetic, phylogeographic and coalescence-based approaches to assess connectivity and historical demography across the whole distribution range of the species. C. kerkyrensis is genetically subdivided into three main mitochondrial lineages; two of them are geographically localized (Corfu Is. and Central Italy) and one encompasses a wide geographic area (Albania and Southern Italy). Most of the detected genetic variation (approximate to 81%) is apportioned among the aforementioned lineages. Conclusions/Significance: Multiple analyses of mismatch distributions consistently supported both past demographic and spatial expansions with the former predating the latter; demographic expansions were consistently placed during interglacial warm phases of the Pleistocene while spatial expansions were restricted to cold periods. Coalescence methods revealed a scenario of past isolation with low levels of gene flow in line with what is already known for other co-distributed fairy shrimps and suggest drift as the prevailing force in promoting local divergence. We recommend that these evolutionary trajectories should be taken in proper consideration in any effort aimed at protecting Mediterranean temporary water bodies. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0030082 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 7 IS - 2 PB - PLoS CY - San Fransisco ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Pavesi, Laura A1 - Deidun, Alan A1 - De Matthaeis, Elvira A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Ketmaier, Valerio T1 - Mitochondrial DNA and microsatellites reveal significant divergence in the beachflea Orchestia montagui (Talitridae: Amphipoda) JF - Aquatic sciences : research across boundaries N2 - Talitrids are semiterrestrial crustacean amphipods inhabiting sandy and rocky beaches; they generally show limited active dispersal over long distances. In this study we assessed levels of population genetic structure and variability in the talitrid amphipod Orchestia montagui, a species strictly associated to stranded decaying heaps of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica. The study is based on six populations (153 individuals) and covers five basins of the Mediterranean Sea (Tyrrhenian, Ionian, Adriatic, Western and Eastern basins). Samples were screened for polymorphisms at a fragment of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) coding for the cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene (COI; 571 base pairs) and at eight microsatellite loci. MtDNA revealed a relatively homogeneous haplogroup, which clustered together the populations from the Western, Tyrrhenian and Eastern basins, but not the populations from the Adriatic and Ionian ones; microsatellites detected two clusters, one including the Adriatic and Ionian populations, the second grouping all the others. We found a weak geographic pattern in the genetic structuring of the species, with a lack of isolation by distance at either class of markers. Results are discussed in terms of probability of passive dispersal over long distances through heaps of seagrass. KW - Orchestia montagui KW - mtDNA KW - Microsatellites KW - Mediterranean Sea KW - Spatial genetic variation Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00027-012-0250-y SN - 1015-1621 VL - 74 IS - 3 SP - 587 EP - 596 PB - Springer CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Paulus, Kirsten B. A1 - Scheer, M. A1 - Von Kistowski, K. G. A1 - Skirnisson, K. A1 - Bloch, D. A1 - Dam, M. T1 - Mitochondrial DNA and microsatellite variation in the eider duck (Somateria mollissima) indicate stepwise postglacial colonization of Europe and limited current long-distance dispersal N2 - To unravel the postglacial colonization history and the current intercolony dispersal in the common eider, Somateria mollissima, we analysed genetic variation at a part of the mitochondrial control region and five unlinked autosomal microsatellite loci in 175 eiders from 11 breeding colonies, covering the entire European distribution range of this species. As a result of extreme female philopatry, mitochondrial DNA differentiation is substantial both among local colonies and among distant geographical regions. Our study further corroborates the previous hypothesis of a single Pleistocene refugium for European eiders. A nested clade analysis on mitochondrial haplotypes suggests that (i) the Baltic Sea eider population is genetically closest to a presumably ancestral population and that (ii) the postglacial recolonization progressed in a stepwise fashion via the North Sea region and the Faroe Islands to Iceland. Current long-distance dispersal is limited. Differentiation among colonies is much less pronounced at microsatellite loci. The geographical pattern of this nuclear genetic variation is to a large extent explained by isolation by distance. As female dispersal is very limited, the geographical pattern of nuclear variation is probably explained by male-mediated gene flow among breeding colonies. Our study provides genetic evidence for the assumed prominent postglacial colonization route shaping the present terrestrial fauna of the North Atlantic islands Iceland and the Faroes. It suggests that this colonization had been a stepwise process originating in continental Europe. It is the first molecular study on eider duck populations covering their entire European distribution range Y1 - 2004 SN - 0962-1083 ER - TY - THES A1 - Sammler, Svenja A1 - Ketmaier, Valerio A1 - Havenstein, Katja A1 - Krause, Ulrike A1 - Curio, Eberhard A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Mitochondrial control region I and microsatellite analyses of endangered Philippine hornbill species (Aves; Bucerotidae) detect gene flow between island populations and genetic diversity loss Y1 - 2012 UR - http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-2148-12-203.pdf U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-12-203 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Sammler, Svenja A1 - Ketmaier, Valerio A1 - Havenstein, Katja A1 - Krause, Ulrike A1 - Curio, Eberhard A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Mitochondrial control region I and microsatellite analyses of endangered Philippine hornbill species (Aves; Bucerotidae) detect gene flow between island populations and genetic diversity loss JF - BMC evolutionary biology N2 - Background: The Visayan Tarictic Hornbill (Penelopides panini) and the Walden's Hornbill (Aceros waldeni) are two threatened hornbill species endemic to the western islands of the Visayas that constitute - between Luzon and Mindanao - the central island group of the Philippine archipelago. In order to evaluate their genetic diversity and to support efforts towards their conservation, we analyzed genetic variation in similar to 600 base pairs (bp) of the mitochondrial control region I and at 12-19 nuclear microsatellite loci. The sampling covered extant populations, still occurring only on two islands (P. panini: Panay and Negros, A. waldeni: only Panay), and it was augmented with museum specimens of extinct populations from neighboring islands. For comparison, their less endangered (= more abundant) sister taxa, the Luzon Tarictic Hornbill (P. manillae) from the Luzon and Polillo Islands and the Writhed Hornbill (A. leucocephalus) from Mindanao Island, were also included in the study. We reconstructed the population history of the two Penelopides species and assessed the genetic population structure of the remaining wild populations in all four species. Results: Mitochondrial and nuclear data concordantly show a clear genetic separation according to the island of origin in both Penelopides species, but also unravel sporadic over-water movements between islands. We found evidence that deforestation in the last century influenced these migratory events. Both classes of markers and the comparison to museum specimens reveal a genetic diversity loss in both Visayan hornbill species, P. panini and A. waldeni, as compared to their more abundant relatives. This might have been caused by local extinction of genetically differentiated populations together with the dramatic decline in the abundance of the extant populations. Conclusions: We demonstrated a loss in genetic diversity of P. panini and A. waldeni as compared to their sister taxa P. manillae and A. leucocephalus. Because of the low potential for gene flow and population exchange across islands, saving of the remaining birds of almost extinct local populations - be it in the wild or in captivity - is particularly important to preserve the species' genetic potential. KW - Biogeography KW - Bucerotidae KW - Conservation genetics KW - Genetic diversity loss KW - Microsatellites KW - Mitochondrial control region I KW - Philippine archipelago KW - Phylogeography Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-12-203 SN - 1471-2148 VL - 12 IS - 25 PB - BioMed Central CY - London ER - TY - GEN A1 - Sammler, Svenja A1 - Ketmaier, Valerio A1 - Havenstein, Katja A1 - Krause, Ulrike A1 - Curio, Eberhard A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Mitochondrial control region I and microsatellite analyses of endangered Philippine hornbill species (Aves; Bucerotidae) detect gene flow between island populations and genetic diversity loss N2 - Background: The Visayan Tarictic Hornbill (Penelopides panini) and the Walden's Hornbill (Aceros waldeni) are two threatened hornbill species endemic to the western islands of the Visayas that constitute - between Luzon and Mindanao - the central island group of the Philippine archipelago. In order to evaluate their genetic diversity and to support efforts towards their conservation, we analyzed genetic variation in similar to 600 base pairs (bp) of the mitochondrial control region I and at 12-19 nuclear microsatellite loci. The sampling covered extant populations, still occurring only on two islands (P. panini: Panay and Negros, A. waldeni: only Panay), and it was augmented with museum specimens of extinct populations from neighboring islands. For comparison, their less endangered (= more abundant) sister taxa, the Luzon Tarictic Hornbill (P. manillae) from the Luzon and Polillo Islands and the Writhed Hornbill (A. leucocephalus) from Mindanao Island, were also included in the study. We reconstructed the population history of the two Penelopides species and assessed the genetic population structure of the remaining wild populations in all four species. Results: Mitochondrial and nuclear data concordantly show a clear genetic separation according to the island of origin in both Penelopides species, but also unravel sporadic over-water movements between islands. We found evidence that deforestation in the last century influenced these migratory events. Both classes of markers and the comparison to museum specimens reveal a genetic diversity loss in both Visayan hornbill species, P. panini and A. waldeni, as compared to their more abundant relatives. This might have been caused by local extinction of genetically differentiated populations together with the dramatic decline in the abundance of the extant populations. Conclusions: We demonstrated a loss in genetic diversity of P. panini and A. waldeni as compared to their sister taxa P. manillae and A. leucocephalus. Because of the low potential for gene flow and population exchange across islands, saving of the remaining birds of almost extinct local populations - be it in the wild or in captivity - is particularly important to preserve the species' genetic potential. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 378 KW - biogeography KW - bucerotidae KW - conservation genetics KW - genetic diversity loss KW - microsatellites KW - mitochondrial control region I KW - Philippine archipelago KW - phylogeography Y1 - 2017 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-401108 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mahler, B. A1 - Schneider, A. R. R. A1 - Di Giacomo, A. S. A1 - Di Giacomo, A. G. A1 - Reboreda, Juan C. A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Microsatellite usefulness is independent of phylogenetic distance in Tyrant flycatchers (Aves: Tyrannidae) - a test using two globally threatened species JF - Genetics and molecular research N2 - Tyrant flycatchers (Aves: Tyrannidae) are endemic to the New World, and many species of this group are threatened or near-threatened at the global level. The aim of this study was to test the 18 microsatellite markers that have been published for other Tyrant flycatchers in the Strange-tailed Tyrant (Alectrurus risora) and the Sharp-tailed Tyrant (Culicivora caudacuta), two endemic species of southern South American grasslands that are classified as vulnerable. We also analyzed the usefulness of loci in relation to phylogenetic distance to the source species. Amplification success was high in both species (77 to 83%) and did not differ between the more closely and more distantly related species to the source species. Polymorphism success was also similar for both species, with 9 and 8 loci being polymorphic, respectively. An increased phylogenetic distance thus does not gradually lead to allelic or locus dropouts, implying that in Tyrant flycatchers, the published loci are useful independent of species relatedness. KW - Alectrurus risora KW - Culicivora caudacuta KW - Microsatellites KW - Tyrannidae Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.4238/2013.August.12.12 SN - 1676-5680 VL - 12 IS - 3 SP - 2966 EP - 2972 PB - FUNPEC CY - Ribeirao Preto ER - TY - GEN A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Pfautsch, Simone T1 - MHC evolution in ducks and allies T2 - Journal of ornithology Y1 - 2006 SN - 0021-8375 VL - 147 IS - Supplement 1 SP - 48 EP - 48 PB - Blackwell CY - New York ER - TY - GEN A1 - Pokorny, Ina A1 - Sharma, Reeta A1 - Goyal, Surendra Prakash A1 - Mishra, Sudanshu A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - MHC class I and MHC class II DRB gene variability in wild and captive Bengal tigers (Panthera tigris tigris) (vol 10, pg 667, 2010) T2 - Immunogenetics Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00251-010-0496-2 SN - 0093-7711 VL - 63 IS - 2 SP - 121 EP - 121 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Scherer, Ulrike A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Schlupp, Ingo T1 - Male size, not female preferences influence female reproductive success in a poeciliid fish (Poecilia latipinna) BT - a combined behavioural/genetic approach JF - BMC Research Notes N2 - Objective We investigated the potential role of indirect benefits for female mate preferences in a highly promiscuous species of live-bearing fishes, the sailfin molly Poecilia latipinna using an integrative approach that combines methods from animal behavior, life-history evolution, and genetics. Males of this species solely contribute sperm for reproduction, and consequently females do not receive any direct benefits. Despite this, females typically show clear mate preferences. It has been suggested that females can increase their reproductive success through indirect benefits from choosing males of higher quality. Results Although preferences for large body size have been recorded as an honest signal for genetic quality, this particular study resulted in female preference being unaffected by male body size. Nonetheless, larger males did sire more offspring, but with no effect on offspring quality. This study presents a methodical innovation by combining preference testing with life history measurements—such as the determination of the dry weight of fish embryos—and paternity analyses on single fish embryos. KW - Fitness KW - Life history KW - Mate choice KW - Microsatellite analysis KW - Offspring weight KW - Paternity analysis KW - Sailfin molly KW - Sexual selection Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-018-3487-2 SN - 1756-0500 VL - 11 IS - 364 SP - 1 EP - 5 PB - Biomed Central CY - London ER - TY - GEN A1 - Scherer, Ulrike A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Schlupp, Ingo T1 - Male size, not female preferences influence female reproductive success in a poeciliid fish (Poecilia latipinna) BT - a combined behavioural/genetic approach T2 - BMC Research Notes N2 - Objective We investigated the potential role of indirect benefits for female mate preferences in a highly promiscuous species of live-bearing fishes, the sailfin molly Poecilia latipinna using an integrative approach that combines methods from animal behavior, life-history evolution, and genetics. Males of this species solely contribute sperm for reproduction, and consequently females do not receive any direct benefits. Despite this, females typically show clear mate preferences. It has been suggested that females can increase their reproductive success through indirect benefits from choosing males of higher quality. Results Although preferences for large body size have been recorded as an honest signal for genetic quality, this particular study resulted in female preference being unaffected by male body size. Nonetheless, larger males did sire more offspring, but with no effect on offspring quality. This study presents a methodical innovation by combining preference testing with life history measurements—such as the determination of the dry weight of fish embryos—and paternity analyses on single fish embryos. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 468 KW - Fitness KW - Life history KW - Mate choice KW - Microsatellite analysis KW - Offspring weight KW - Paternity analysis KW - Sailfin molly KW - Sexual selection Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-417471 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Plath, Martin A1 - Hermann, Bernd A1 - Schröder, Christine A1 - Riesch, Rüdiger A1 - Tobler, Michael A1 - García de León, Francisco J. A1 - Schlupp, Ingo A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Locally adapted fish populations maintain small-scale genetic differentiation despite perturbation by a catastrophic flood event N2 - Background: Local adaptation to divergent environmental conditions can promote population genetic differentiation even in the absence of geographic barriers and hence, lead to speciation. Perturbations by catastrophic events, however, can distort such parapatric ecological speciation processes. Here, we asked whether an exceptionally strong flood led to homogenization of gene pools among locally adapted populations of the Atlantic molly (Poecilia mexicana, Poeciliidae) in the Cueva del Azufre system in southern Mexico, where two strong environmental selection factors (darkness within caves and/or presence of toxic H2S in sulfidic springs) drive the diversification of P. mexicana. Nine nuclear microsatellites as well as heritable female life history traits (both as a proxy for quantitative genetics and for trait divergence) were used as markers to compare genetic differentiation, genetic diversity, and especially population mixing (immigration and emigration) before and after the flood. Results: Habitat type (i.e., non-sulfidic surface, sulfidic surface, or sulfidic cave), but not geographic distance was the major predictor of genetic differentiation. Before and after the flood, each habitat type harbored a genetically distinct population. Only a weak signal of individual dislocation among ecologically divergent habitat types was uncovered (with the exception of slightly increased dislocation from the Cueva del Azufre into the sulfidic creek, El Azufre). By contrast, several lines of evidence are indicative of increased flood-induced dislocation within the same habitat type, e.g., between different cave chambers of the Cueva del Azufre. Conclusions: The virtual absence of individual dislocation among ecologically different habitat types indicates strong natural selection against migrants. Thus, our current study exemplifies that ecological speciation in this and other systems, in which extreme environmental factors drive speciation, may be little affected by temporary perturbations, as adaptations to physico-chemical stressors may directly affect the survival probability in divergent habitat types. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - paper 162 Y1 - 2010 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-48599 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Makowicz, Amber M. A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Steele, Rachel N. A1 - Schlupp, Ingo T1 - Kin Recognition in a Clonal Fish, Poecilia formosa JF - PLoS one N2 - Relatedness strongly influences social behaviors in a wide variety of species. For most species, the highest typical degree of relatedness is between full siblings with 50% shared genes. However, this is poorly understood in species with unusually high relatedness between individuals: clonal organisms. Although there has been some investigation into clonal invertebrates and yeast, nothing is known about kin selection in clonal vertebrates. We show that a clonal fish, the Amazon molly (Poecilia formosa), can distinguish between different clonal lineages, associating with genetically identical, sister clones, and use multiple sensory modalities. Also, they scale their aggressive behaviors according to the relatedness to other females: they are more aggressive to non-related clones. Our results demonstrate that even in species with very small genetic differences between individuals, kin recognition can be adaptive. Their discriminatory abilities and regulation of costly behaviors provides a powerful example of natural selection in species with limited genetic diversity. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0158442 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 11 PB - PLoS CY - San Fransisco ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schedina, Ina-Maria A1 - Pfautsch, Simone A1 - Hartmann, Stefanie A1 - Dolgener, N. A1 - Polgar, Anika A1 - Bianco, Pier Giorgio A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Ketmaier, Valerio T1 - Isolation and characterization of eight microsatellite loci in the brook lamprey Lampetra planeri (Petromyzontiformes) using 454 sequence data JF - Journal of fish biology N2 - Eight polymorphic microsatellite loci were developed for the brook lamprey Lampetra planeri through 454 sequencing and their usefulness was tested in 45 individuals of both L. planeri and the river lamprey Lampetra fluviatilis. The number of alleles per loci ranged between two and five; the Italian and Irish populations had a mean expected heterozygosity of 0.388 and 0.424 and a mean observed heterozygosity of 0.418 and 0.411, respectively. (C) 2014 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles KW - conservation KW - population structure KW - species pair Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.12470 SN - 0022-1112 SN - 1095-8649 VL - 85 IS - 3 SP - 960 EP - 964 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tebbe, Jonas A1 - Ottensmann, Meinolf A1 - Havenstein, Katja A1 - Efstratiou, Artemis A1 - Lenz, Tobias L. A1 - Caspers, Barbara A. A1 - Forcada, Jaume A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Hoffman, Joseph T1 - Intronic primers reveal unexpectedly high major histocompatibility complex diversity in Antarctic fur seals JF - Scientific reports N2 - The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is a group of genes comprising one of the most important components of the vertebrate immune system. Consequently, there has been much interest in characterising MHC variation and its relationship with fitness in a variety of species. Due to the exceptional polymorphism of MHC genes, careful PCR primer design is crucial for capturing all of the allelic variation present in a given species. We therefore developed intronic primers to amplify the full-length 267 bp protein-coding sequence of the MHC class II DQB exon 2 in the Antarctic fur seal. We then characterised patterns of MHC variation among mother-offspring pairs from two breeding colonies and detected 19 alleles among 771 clone sequences from 56 individuals. The distribution of alleles within and among individuals was consistent with a single-copy, classical DQB locus showing Mendelian inheritance. Amino acid similarity at the MHC was significantly associated with genome-wide relatedness, but no relationship was found between MHC heterozygosity and genome-wide heterozygosity. Finally, allelic diversity was several times higher than reported by a previous study based on partial exon sequences. This difference appears to be related to allele-specific amplification bias, implying that primer design can strongly impact the inference of MHC diversity. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-21658-7 SN - 2045-2322 VL - 12 IS - 1 PB - Nature Publishing Group CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Nahavandi, Nahid A1 - Ketmaier, Valerio A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Intron structure of the elongation factor 1-alpha gene in the ponto-caspian amphipod pontogammarus maeoticus (Sowinsky, 1894) and its phylogeographic utility JF - Journal of crustacean biology N2 - We tested the utility of a 230 base pair intron fragment of the highly conserved nuclear gene Elongation Factor 1-alpha (EF1-alpha) as a proper marker to reconstruct the phylogeography of the marine amphipod Pontogammarus maeoticus (Sowinsky, 1894) from the Caspian and Black Seas. As a prerequisite for further analysis, we confirmed by Southern blot analysis that EF1-alpha is encoded at a single locus in P. maeoticus. We included 15 populations and 60 individuals in the study. Both the phylogeny of the 27 unique alleles found and population genetic analyses revealed a significant differentiation between populations from the aforementioned sea basins. Our results are in remarkable agreement with recent studies on a variety of species from the same area, which invariably support a major phylogeographic break between the Caspian and Black Seas. We thus conclude that our EF1-alpha intron is an informative marker for phylogeographic studies in amphipods at the shallow population level. KW - Amphipoda KW - Elongation Factor 1-alpha KW - phylogeography KW - Ponto-Caspian region KW - Pontogammarus maeoticus Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1163/193724012X626584 SN - 0278-0372 VL - 32 IS - 3 SP - 425 EP - 433 PB - Brill CY - San Antonio ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schwarte, Sandra A1 - Brust, Henrike A1 - Steup, Martin A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Intraspecific sequence variation and differential expression in starch synthase genes of Arabidopsis thaliana Y1 - 2013 UR - http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1756-0500-6-84.pdf U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/1756-0500-6-84 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Schwarte, Sandra A1 - Brust, Henrike A1 - Steup, Martin A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Intraspecific sequence variation and differential expression in starch synthase genes of Arabidopsis thaliana T2 - BMC Research Notes N2 - Background Natural accessions of Arabidopsis thaliana are a well-known system to measure levels of intraspecific genetic variation. Leaf starch content correlates negatively with biomass. Starch is synthesized by the coordinated action of many (iso)enzymes. Quantitatively dominant is the repetitive transfer of glucosyl residues to the non-reducing ends of α-glucans as mediated by starch synthases. In the genome of A. thaliana, there are five classes of starch synthases, designated as soluble starch synthases (SSI, SSII, SSIII, and SSIV) and granule-bound synthase (GBSS). Each class is represented by a single gene. The five genes are homologous in functional domains due to their common origin, but have evolved individual features as well. Here, we analyze the extent of genetic variation in these fundamental protein classes as well as possible functional implications on transcript and protein levels. Findings Intraspecific sequence variation of the five starch synthases was determined by sequencing the entire loci including promoter regions from 30 worldwide distributed accessions of A. thaliana. In all genes, a considerable number of nucleotide polymorphisms was observed, both in non-coding and coding regions, and several amino acid substitutions were identified in functional domains. Furthermore, promoters possess numerous polymorphisms in potentially regulatory cis-acting regions. By realtime experiments performed with selected accessions, we demonstrate that DNA sequence divergence correlates with significant differences in transcript levels. Conclusions Except for AtSSII, all starch synthase classes clustered into two or three groups of haplotypes, respectively. Significant difference in transcript levels among haplotype clusters in AtSSIV provides evidence for cis-regulation. By contrast, no such correlation was found for AtSSI, AtSSII, AtSSIII, and AtGBSS, suggesting trans-regulation. The expression data presented here point to a regulation by common trans-regulatory transcription factors which ensures a coordinated action of the products of these four genes during starch granule biosynthesis. The apparent cis-regulation of AtSSIV might be related to its role in the initiation of de novo biosynthesis of granules. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 400 KW - Arabidopsis thaliana KW - starch synthases KW - genetic variation KW - transcript level Y1 - 2017 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-401128 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Sammler, Svenja A1 - Ketmaier, Valerio A1 - Havenstein, Katja A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Intraspecific rearrangement of duplicated mitochondrial control regions in the luzon tarictic hornbill penelopides manillae (Aves: Bucerotidae) T2 - Journal of molecular evolution N2 - Philippine hornbills of the genera Aceros and Penelopides (Bucerotidae) are known to possess a large tandemly duplicated fragment in their mitochondrial genome, whose paralogous parts largely evolve in concert. In the present study, we surveyed the two distinguishable duplicated control regions in several individuals of the Luzon Tarictic Hornbill Penelopides manillae, compare their characteristics within and across individuals, and report on an intraspecific mitochondrial gene rearrangement found in one single specimen, i.e., an interchange between the two control regions. To our knowledge, this is the first observation of two distinct mitochondrial genome rearrangements within a bird species. We briefly discuss a possible evolutionary mechanism responsible for this pattern, and highlight potential implications for the application of control region sequences as a marker in population genetics and phylogeography. KW - Bucerotidae KW - Concerted evolution KW - Control region KW - Mitochondrial gene order KW - Mitochondrial recombination KW - Philippine archipelago Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00239-013-9591-y SN - 0022-2844 SN - 1432-1432 VL - 77 IS - 5-6 SP - 199 EP - 205 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Korniienko, Yevheniia A1 - Nguyen, Linh A1 - Baumgartner, Stephanie A1 - Vater, Marianne A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Kirschbaum, Frank T1 - Intragenus F1-hybrids of African weakly electric fish (Mormyridae: Campylomormyrus tamandua male x C. compressirostris female) are fertile JF - Journal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology N2 - Hybridization is widespread in fish and constitutes an important mechanism in fish speciation. There is, however, little knowledge about hybridization in mormyrids. F1-interspecies hybrids betweenCampylomormyrus tamandua male x C. compressirostris female were investigated concerning: (1) fertility; (2) survival of F2-fish and (3) new gene combinations in the F2-generation concerning the structure of the electric organ and features of the electric organ discharge. These F1-hybrids achieved sexual maturity at about 12-13.5 cm total length. A breeding group comprising six males and 13 females spawned 28 times naturally proving these F1-fish to be fertile. On average 228 eggs were spawned, the average fertilization rate was 47.8%. Eggs started to hatch 70-72 h after fertilization, average hatching rate was 95.6%. Average mortality rate during embryonic development amounted to 2.3%. Average malformation rate during the free embryonic stage was 27.7%. Exogenous feeding started on day 11. In total, we raised 353 normally developed larvae all of which died consecutively, the oldest specimen reaching an age of 5 months. During survival, the activities of the larval and adult electric organs were recorded and the structure of the adult electric organ was investigated histologically. KW - mormyridae KW - campylomormyrus KW - F1-hybrids KW - F2-hybrids KW - fertility Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-020-01425-7 SN - 0340-7594 SN - 1432-1351 VL - 206 IS - 4 SP - 571 EP - 585 PB - Springer CY - Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Romero-Mujalli, Daniel A1 - Jeltsch, Florian A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Individual-based modeling of eco-evolutionary dynamics BT - state of the art and future directions JF - Regional environmental change N2 - A challenge for eco-evolutionary research is to better understand the effect of climate and landscape changes on species and their distribution. Populations of species can respond to changes in their environment through local genetic adaptation or plasticity, dispersal, or local extinction. The individual-based modeling (IBM) approach has been repeatedly applied to assess organismic responses to environmental changes. IBMs simulate emerging adaptive behaviors from the basic entities upon which both ecological and evolutionary mechanisms act. The objective of this review is to summarize the state of the art of eco-evolutionary IBMs and to explore to what degree they already address the key responses of organisms to environmental change. In this, we identify promising approaches and potential knowledge gaps in the implementation of eco-evolutionary mechanisms to motivate future research. Using mainly the ISI Web of Science, we reveal that most of the progress in eco-evolutionary IBMs in the last decades was achieved for genetic adaptation to novel local environmental conditions. There is, however, not a single eco-evolutionary IBM addressing the three potential adaptive responses simultaneously. Additionally, IBMs implementing adaptive phenotypic plasticity are rare. Most commonly, plasticity was implemented as random noise or reaction norms. Our review further identifies a current lack of models where plasticity is an evolving trait. Future eco-evolutionary models should consider dispersal and plasticity as evolving traits with their associated costs and benefits. Such an integrated approach could help to identify conditions promoting population persistence depending on the life history strategy of organisms and the environment they experience. KW - Modeling KW - Individual-based models KW - Ecology KW - Evolution KW - Eco-evolutionary dynamics Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-018-1406-7 SN - 1436-3798 SN - 1436-378X VL - 19 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 12 PB - Springer CY - Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gross, Stephanie A1 - Claus, Philip A1 - Wohlsein, Peter A1 - Kesselring, Tina A1 - Lakemeyer, Jan A1 - Reckendorf, Anja A1 - Roller, Marco A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Siebert, Ursula T1 - Indication of lethal interactions between a solitary bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) in the German Baltic Sea JF - BMC zoology N2 - Background Aggressive interactions between bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) have been reported in different parts of the world since the late 1990s. In the Baltic Sea, harbor porpoises are the only native cetacean species, while bottlenose dolphins may appear there temporarily. In the fall of 2016, a solitary male photo-identified bottlenose dolphin stayed in the German Baltic Sea of Schleswig-Holstein for 3 months. During that time, the necropsies of the stranded harbor porpoises revealed types of trauma of varying degrees in six animals, which is unusual in this area. The purpose of this study was to determine if the appearance of the bottlenose dolphin could be linked to the trauma of the harbor porpoise carcasses. Results Pathological findings in these animals included subcutaneous, thoracic and abdominal hemorrhages, multiple, mainly bilateral, rib fractures, and one instance of lung laceration. These findings correspond with the previously reported dolphin-caused injuries in other regions. Moreover, public sighting reports showed a spatial and temporal correlation between the appearance of the dolphin and the stranding of fatally injured harbor porpoises. Conclusion Despite the fact that no attack has been witnessed in German waters to date, our findings indicate the first record of lethal interactions between a bottlenose dolphin and harbor porpoises in the German Baltic Sea. Furthermore, to our knowledge, this is the first report of porpoise aggression by a socially isolated bottlenose dolphin. KW - Cetaceans KW - Interspecific aggression KW - Porpicide KW - Blunt trauma KW - Mortality KW - Stranding Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/s40850-020-00061-7 SN - 2056-3132 VL - 5 IS - 1 PB - BMC CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Marrone, F. A1 - Havenstein, Katja A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Ketmaier, V. T1 - Identification and characterization of five polymorphic microsatellite loci in the freshwater copepod Hemidiaptomus gurneyi (Copepoda: Calanoida: Diaptomidae) JF - The Italian journal of zoology N2 - Hemidiaptomus diaptomid copepods are known to be excellent biological indicators for the highly biodiverse crustacean communities inhabiting Mediterranean temporary ponds (MTPs), an endangered inland water habitat whose conservation is considered a priority according to the "Habitat Directive" of the European Union. This study reports on the characterization of five polymorphic microsatellite loci in Hemidiaptomus gurneyi, to be used as markers for fine-scale studies on the population genetic structure and metapopulation dynamics of a typical and obligate MTP dweller. The five selected loci proved to be polymorphic in the species, with three to five polymorphic loci per studied population. Overall, mean heterozygosity scored for all loci and populations was lower than that reported for the few other diaptomid species for which microsatellite loci have been to date described; this is possibly due to the intrinsically fragmented and isolated peculiar habitat inhabited by the species. Furthermore, the presence of indels within the flanking regions of selected loci was scored. This study, albeit confirming the technical difficulties in finding proper microsatellite markers in copepods, provides for the first time a set of useful polymorphic microsatellite loci for a Hemidiaptomus species, thus allowing the realization of fine-scale phylogeographic and population genetics studies of this flagship crustacean taxon for MTPs. KW - Mediterranean temporary ponds KW - diaptomid copepods KW - SSRs Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/11250003.2015.1126363 SN - 1125-0003 SN - 1748-5851 VL - 83 SP - 146 EP - 150 PB - Springer CY - Abingdon ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Trauth, Martin H. A1 - Maslin, Mark A. A1 - Deino, Alan L. A1 - Junginger, Annett A1 - Lesoloyia, Moses A1 - Odada, Eric O. A1 - Olago, Daniel O. A1 - Olaka, Lydia A. A1 - Strecker, Manfred A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Human evolution in a variable environment : the amplifier lakes of Eastern Africa N2 - The development of rise Cenozoic East African Rift System (EARS) profoundly re-shaped the landscape and significantly increased the amplitude of short-term environmental response to climate variation. In particular, the development of amplifier lakes in rift basins after three million years ago significantly contributed to this exceptional sensitivity of East Africa to climate change compared to elsewhere on the African continent. Amplifier lakes are characterized by tectonically-formed graben morphologies in combination with an extreme contrast between high precipitation in the elevated parts of the catchment and high evaporation in the lake area. Such amplifier lakes respond rapidly to moderate, precessional-forced climate shifts, and as they do so apply dramatic environmental pressure to the biosphere. Rift basins, when either extremely dry or lake-filled, form important barriers for migration, mixing and competition of different populations of animals and hominins. Amplifier lakes link long-term, high-amplitude tectonic processes and short-term environmental fluctuations. East Africa may have become the place where early humans evolved as a consequence of this strong link between different time scales. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Y1 - 2010 UR - http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/02773791 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2010.07.007 SN - 0277-3791 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Epp, Laura Saskia A1 - Stoof, Kathleen R. A1 - Trauth, Martin H. A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Historical genetics on a sediment core from a Kenyan lake : intraspecific genotype turnover in a tropical rotifer is related to past environmental changes N2 - Using molecular genetic methods and an ancient DNA approach, we studied population and species succession of rotifers of the genus Brachionus in the Kenyan alkaline-saline crater lake Sonachi since the beginning of the 19th century as well as distribution of Brachionus haplotypes in recent and historic sediments of other lakes of the East African Rift System. The sediment core record of Lake Sonachi displays haplotypes of a distinct evolutionary lineage in all increments. Populations were dominated by a single mitochondrial haplotype for a period of 150 years, and two putatively intraspecific turnovers in dominance occurred. Both changes are concordant with major environmental perturbations documented by a profound visible change in sediment composition of the core. The first change was very abrupt and occurred after the deposition of volcanic ash at the beginning of the 19th century. The second change coincides with a major lake level lowstand during the 1940s. It was preceded by a period of successively declining lake level, in which two other haplotypes appeared in the lake. One of these putatively belongs to another species documented in historical and recent Kenyan lake sediments. The analysis of plankton population dynamics through historical time can reveal patterns of population persistence and turnover in relation to environmental changes. Y1 - 2010 UR - http://www.springerlink.com/content/100294 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-009-9379-7 SN - 0921-2728 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Autenrieth, Marijke A1 - Hartmann, Stefanie A1 - Lah, Ljerka A1 - Roos, Anna A1 - Dennis, Alice B. A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - High-quality whole-genome sequence of an abundant Holarctic odontocete, the harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) JF - Molecular ecology resources N2 - The harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) is a highly mobile cetacean found across the Northern hemisphere. It occurs in coastal waters and inhabits basins that vary broadly in salinity, temperature and food availability. These diverse habitats could drive subtle differentiation among populations, but examination of this would be best conducted with a robust reference genome. Here, we report the first harbour porpoise genome, assembled de novo from an individual originating in the Kattegat Sea (Sweden). The genome is one of the most complete cetacean genomes currently available, with a total size of 2.39 Gb and 50% of the total length found in just 34 scaffolds. Using 122 of the longest scaffolds, we were able to show high levels of synteny with the genome of the domestic cattle (Bos taurus). Our draft annotation comprises 22,154 predicted genes, which we further annotated through matches to the NCBI nucleotide database, GO categorization and motif prediction. Within the predicted genes, we have confirmed the presence of >20 genes or gene families that have been associated with adaptive evolution in other cetaceans. Overall, this genome assembly and draft annotation represent a crucial addition to the genomic resources currently available for the study of porpoises and Phocoenidae evolution, phylogeny and conservation. KW - cetaceans KW - genomics/proteomics KW - mammals KW - molecular evolution Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/1755-0998.12932 SN - 1755-098X SN - 1755-0998 VL - 18 IS - 6 SP - 1469 EP - 1481 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Stoof-Leichsenring, Kathleen Rosemarie A1 - Epp, Laura Saskia A1 - Trauth, Martin H. A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Hidden diversity in diatoms of Kenyan Lake Naivasha a genetic approach detects temporal variation JF - Molecular ecology N2 - This study provides insights into the morphological and genetic diversity in diatoms occurring in core sediments from tropical lakes in Kenya. We developed a genetic survey technique specific for diatoms utilizing a short region (7667 bp) of the ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase large subunit (rbcL) gene as genetic barcode. Our analyses (i) validated the use of rbcL as a barcoding marker for diatoms, applied to sediment samples, (ii) showed a significant correlation between the results obtained by morphological and molecular data and (iii) indicated temporal variation in diatom assemblages on the inter- and intra-specific level. Diatom assemblages from a short core from Lake Naivasha show a drastic shift over the last 200 years, as littoral species (e.g. Navicula) are replaced by more planktonic ones (e.g. Aulacoseira). Within that same period, we detected periodic changes in the respective frequencies of distinct haplotype groups of Navicula, which coincide with wet and dry periods of Lake Naivasha between 1820 and 1938 AD. Our genetic analyses on historical lake sediments revealed inter- and intra-specific variation in diatoms, which is partially hidden behind single morphotypes. The occurrence of particular genetic lineages is probably correlated with environmental factors. KW - diatoms KW - DNA barcoding KW - historical DNA KW - intra-specific variation KW - rbcL KW - tropical lake sediments Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2011.05412.x SN - 0962-1083 VL - 21 IS - 8 SP - 1918 EP - 1930 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Malden ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Cahsan, Binia De A1 - Westbury, Michael V. A1 - Paraskevopoulou, Sofia A1 - Drews, Hauke A1 - Ott, Moritz A1 - Gollmann, Günter A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Genomic consequences of human-mediated translocations in margin populations of an endangered amphibian JF - Evolutionary Applications N2 - Due to their isolated and often fragmented nature, range margin populations are especially vulnerable to rapid environmental change. To maintain genetic diversity and adaptive potential, gene flow from disjunct populations might therefore be crucial to their survival. Translocations are often proposed as a mitigation strategy to increase genetic diversity in threatened populations. However, this also includes the risk of losing locally adapted alleles through genetic swamping. Human-mediated translocations of southern lineage specimens into northern German populations of the endangered European fire-bellied toad (Bombina bombina) provide an unexpected experimental set-up to test the genetic consequences of an intraspecific introgression from central population individuals into populations at the species range margin. Here, we utilize complete mitochondrial genomes and transcriptome nuclear data to reveal the full genetic extent of this translocation and the consequences it may have for these populations. We uncover signs of introgression in four out of the five northern populations investigated, including a number of introgressed alleles ubiquitous in all recipient populations, suggesting a possible adaptive advantage. Introgressed alleles dominate at the MTCH2 locus, associated with obesity/fat tissue in humans, and the DSP locus, essential for the proper development of epidermal skin in amphibians. Furthermore, we found loci where local alleles were retained in the introgressed populations, suggesting their relevance for local adaptation. Finally, comparisons of genetic diversity between introgressed and nonintrogressed northern German populations revealed an increase in genetic diversity in all German individuals belonging to introgressed populations, supporting the idea of a beneficial transfer of genetic variation from Austria into North Germany. KW - adaptive introgression KW - admixture KW - Bombina bombina KW - genetic rescue KW - mitogenomes KW - transcriptomics Y1 - 2020 SN - 1752-4563 VL - 14 IS - 6 PB - John Wiley & Sons, Inc. CY - New Jersey ER - TY - GEN A1 - Cahsan, Binia De A1 - Westbury, Michael V. A1 - Paraskevopoulou, Sofia A1 - Drews, Hauke A1 - Ott, Moritz A1 - Gollmann, Günter A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Genomic consequences of human-mediated translocations in margin populations of an endangered amphibian T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Due to their isolated and often fragmented nature, range margin populations are especially vulnerable to rapid environmental change. To maintain genetic diversity and adaptive potential, gene flow from disjunct populations might therefore be crucial to their survival. Translocations are often proposed as a mitigation strategy to increase genetic diversity in threatened populations. However, this also includes the risk of losing locally adapted alleles through genetic swamping. Human-mediated translocations of southern lineage specimens into northern German populations of the endangered European fire-bellied toad (Bombina bombina) provide an unexpected experimental set-up to test the genetic consequences of an intraspecific introgression from central population individuals into populations at the species range margin. Here, we utilize complete mitochondrial genomes and transcriptome nuclear data to reveal the full genetic extent of this translocation and the consequences it may have for these populations. We uncover signs of introgression in four out of the five northern populations investigated, including a number of introgressed alleles ubiquitous in all recipient populations, suggesting a possible adaptive advantage. Introgressed alleles dominate at the MTCH2 locus, associated with obesity/fat tissue in humans, and the DSP locus, essential for the proper development of epidermal skin in amphibians. Furthermore, we found loci where local alleles were retained in the introgressed populations, suggesting their relevance for local adaptation. Finally, comparisons of genetic diversity between introgressed and nonintrogressed northern German populations revealed an increase in genetic diversity in all German individuals belonging to introgressed populations, supporting the idea of a beneficial transfer of genetic variation from Austria into North Germany. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 1168 KW - adaptive introgression KW - admixture KW - Bombina bombina KW - genetic rescue KW - mitogenomes KW - transcriptomics Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-523140 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 6 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Sharma, Reeta A1 - Stuckas, Heiko A1 - Bhaskar, Ranjana A1 - Khan, Imran A1 - Goyal, Surendra Prakash A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Genetically distinct population of Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) in Terai Arc Landscape (TAL) of India JF - Mammalian biology = Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde N2 - We analyzed mtDNA polymorphisms (a total of 741 bp from a part of conserved control region, ND5, ND2, Cyt b and 12S) in 91 scats and 12 tissue samples of Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) populations across Terai Arc Landscape (TAL) located at the foothills of Himalayas in North Western India, Buxa Tiger Reserve (BTR), and North East India. In TAL and BTR, we found a specific haplotype at high frequency, which was absent elsewhere, indicating a genetically distinct population in these regions. Within the TAL region, there is some evidence for genetic isolation of the tiger populations west of river Ganges, i.e., in the western part of Rajaji National Park (RNP). Although the river itself might not constitute a significant barrier for tigers, recent human-induced changes in habitat and degradation of the Motichur-Chilla Corridor connecting the two sides of the tiger habitat of RNP might effectively prevent genetic exchange. A cohesive population is observed for the rest of the TAL. Even the more eastern BTR belongs genetically to this unit, despite the present lack of a migration corridor between BTR and TAL. In spite of a close geographic proximity, Chitwan (Nepal) constitutes a tiger population genetically different from TAL. Moreover, it is observed that the North East India tiger populations are genetically different from TAL and BTR, as well as from the other Bengal tiger populations in India. KW - Bengal tiger KW - Population genetics KW - mtDNA haplotype KW - Terai Arc Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mambio.2010.10.005 SN - 1616-5047 VL - 76 IS - 4 SP - 484 EP - 490 PB - Elsevier CY - Jena ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Dominguez, Marisol A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Reboreda, Juan C. A1 - Segura, Luciano A1 - Tittarelli, Fabian A1 - Mahler, Bettina T1 - Genetic structure reveals management units for the yellow cardinal (Gubernatrix cristata), endangered by habitat loss and illegal trapping JF - Conservation genetics KW - Genetic structure KW - Gubernatrix cristata KW - Management units KW - MtDNA KW - Microsatellites KW - Hybrids Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-017-0964-4 SN - 1566-0621 SN - 1572-9737 VL - 18 SP - 1131 EP - 1140 PB - Springer CY - Dordrecht ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Dolgener, Nicola A1 - Schröder, Christiane A1 - Schneeweiss, N. A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Genetic population structure of the Fire-bellied toad Bombina bombina in an area of high population density implications for conservation JF - Hydrobiologia : acta hydrobiologica, hydrographica, limnologica et protistologica N2 - In this study, we report the genetic population structure of the Fire-bellied toad Bombina bombina in Brandenburg (East Germany) in the context of conservation. We analysed 298 samples originating from 11 populations in Brandenburg using mitochondrial control region sequences and six polymorphic microsatellite loci. For comparison, we included one population each from Poland and Ukraine into our analysis. Within Brandenburg, we detected a moderate variability in the mitochondrial control region (19 different haplotypes) and at microsatellite loci (9-12 alleles per locus). These polymorphisms revealed a clear population structure among toads in Brandenburg, despite a relatively high overall population density and the moderate size of single populations (100-2000 individuals). The overall genetic population structure is consistent with a postglacial colonization from South East-Europe and a subsequent population expansion. Based on genetic connectivity, we infer Management Units (MUs) as targets for conservation. Our genetic survey identified MUs, within which human infrastructure is currently preventing any genetic exchange. We also detect an unintentional translocation from South East to North West Brandenburg, presumably in the course of fish stocking activities. Provided suitable conservation measures are taken, Brandenburg should continue to harbor large populations of this critically endangered species. KW - Conservation genetics KW - Fire-bellied toad KW - Fragmentation KW - Mitochondrial DNA KW - Microsatellites KW - Translocation Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-012-1016-1 SN - 0018-8158 VL - 689 IS - 1 SP - 111 EP - 120 PB - Springer CY - Dordrecht ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Stoof-Leichsenring, Kathleen Rosemarie A1 - Herzschuh, Ulrike A1 - Pestryakova, Luidmila Agafyevna A1 - Klemm, Juliane A1 - Epp, Laura Saskia A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Genetic data from algae sedimentary DNA reflect the influence of environment over geography JF - Scientific reports N2 - Genetic investigations on eukaryotic plankton confirmed the existence of modern biogeographic patterns, but analyses of palaeoecological data exploring the temporal variability of these patterns have rarely been presented. Ancient sedimentary DNA proved suitable for investigations of past assemblage turnover in the course of environmental change, but genetic relatedness of the identified lineages has not yet been undertaken. Here, we investigate the relatedness of diatom lineages in Siberian lakes along environmental gradients (i.e. across treeline transects), over geographic distance and through time (i.e. the last 7000 years) using modern and ancient sedimentary DNA. Our results indicate that closely-related Staurosira lineages occur in similar environments and less-related lineages in dissimilar environments, in our case different vegetation and co-varying climatic and limnic variables across treeline transects. Thus our study reveals that environmental conditions rather than geographic distance is reflected by diatom-relatedness patterns in space and time. We tentatively speculate that the detected relatedness pattern in Staurosira across the treeline could be a result of adaptation to diverse environmental conditions across the arctic boreal treeline, however, a geographically-driven divergence and subsequent repopulation of ecologically different habitats might also be a potential explanation for the observed pattern. Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/srep12924 SN - 2045-2322 VL - 5 PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Pavesi, Laura A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - DeMatthaeis, Elvira A1 - Ketmaier, Valerio T1 - Genetic connectivity between land and sea: the case of the beachflea Orchestia montagui (Crustacea, Amphipoda, Talitridae) in the Mediterranean Sea Y1 - 2013 UR - 1960 = DOI: 10.1186/1742-9994-10-21 SN - 1742-9994 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Pavesi, Laura A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - De Matthaeis, Elvira A1 - Ketmaier, Valerio T1 - Genetic connectivity between land and sea - the case of the beachflea Orchestia montagui (Crustacea, Amphipoda, Talitridae) in the Mediterranean Sea JF - Frontiers in zoology N2 - Introduction: We examined patterns of genetic divergence in 26 Mediterranean populations of the semi-terrestrial beachflea Orchestia montagui using mitochondrial (cytochrome oxidase subunit I), microsatellite (eight loci) and allozymic data. The species typically forms large populations within heaps of dead seagrass leaves stranded on beaches at the waterfront. We adopted a hierarchical geographic sampling to unravel population structure in a species living at the sea-land transition and, hence, likely subjected to dramatically contrasting forces. Results: Mitochondrial DNA showed historical phylogeographic breaks among Adriatic, Ionian and the remaining basins (Tyrrhenian, Western and Eastern Mediterranean Sea) likely caused by the geological and climatic changes of the Pleistocene. Microsatellites (and to a lesser extent allozymes) detected a further subdivision between and within the Western Mediterranean and the Tyrrhenian Sea due to present-day processes. A pattern of isolation by distance was not detected in any of the analyzed data set. Conclusions: We conclude that the population structure of O. montagui is the result of the interplay of two contrasting forces that act on the species population genetic structure. On one hand, the species semi-terrestrial life style would tend to determine the onset of local differences. On the other hand, these differences are partially counter-balanced by passive movements of migrants via rafting on heaps of dead seagrass leaves across sites by sea surface currents. Approximate Bayesian Computations support dispersal at sea as prevalent over terrestrial regionalism. KW - Orchestia montagui KW - Talitrids KW - Mediterranean Sea KW - Phylogeography KW - Mitochondrial DNA KW - Microsatellites KW - Allozymes KW - Approximate Bayesian Computation Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/1742-9994-10-21 SN - 1742-9994 VL - 10 IS - 4-5 PB - BioMed Central CY - London ER - TY - GEN A1 - Pavesi, Laura A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - De Matthaeis, Elvira A1 - Ketmaier, Valerio T1 - Genetic connectivity between land and sea BT - the case of the beachflea Orchestia montagui (Crustacea, Amphipoda, Talitridae) in the Mediterranean Sea N2 - Introduction: We examined patterns of genetic divergence in 26 Mediterranean populations of the semi-terrestrial beachflea Orchestia montagui using mitochondrial (cytochrome oxidase subunit I), microsatellite (eight loci) and allozymic data. The species typically forms large populations within heaps of dead seagrass leaves stranded on beaches at the waterfront. We adopted a hierarchical geographic sampling to unravel population structure in a species living at the sea-land transition and, hence, likely subjected to dramatically contrasting forces. Results: Mitochondrial DNA showed historical phylogeographic breaks among Adriatic, Ionian and the remaining basins (Tyrrhenian, Western and Eastern Mediterranean Sea) likely caused by the geological and climatic changes of the Pleistocene. Microsatellites (and to a lesser extent allozymes) detected a further subdivision between and within the Western Mediterranean and the Tyrrhenian Sea due to present-day processes. A pattern of isolation by distance was not detected in any of the analyzed data set. Conclusions: We conclude that the population structure of O. montagui is the result of the interplay of two contrasting forces that act on the species population genetic structure. On one hand, the species semi-terrestrial life style would tend to determine the onset of local differences. On the other hand, these differences are partially counter-balanced by passive movements of migrants via rafting on heaps of dead seagrass leaves across sites by sea surface currents. Approximate Bayesian Computations support dispersal at sea as prevalent over terrestrial regionalism. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 399 KW - Orchestia montagui KW - Talitrids KW - Mediterranean Sea KW - Phylogeography KW - Mitochondrial DNA KW - Microsatellites KW - Allozymes KW - Approximate Bayesian Computation Y1 - 2017 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-401110 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Milinkovitch, M. C. A1 - Monteyne, D. A1 - Gibbs, J. P. A1 - Fritts, T. H. A1 - Tapia, W. A1 - Snell, H. L. A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Caccone, Adalgisa A1 - Powell, J. R. T1 - Genetic analysis of a successful repatriation programme : giant Galapagos tortoises N2 - As natural populations of endangered species dwindle to precarious levels, remaining members are sometimes brought into captivity, allowed to breed and their offspring returned to the natural habitat. One goal of such repatriation programmes is to retain as much of the genetic variation of the species as possible. A taxon of giant GalApagos tortoises on the island of Espahola has been the subject of a captive breeding-repatriation programme for 33 years. Core breeders, consisting of 12 females and three males, have produced more than 1200 offspring that have been released on Espanola where in situ reproduction has recently been observed. Using microsatellite DNA markers, we have determined the maternity and paternity of 132 repatriated offspring. Contributions of the breeders are highly skewed. This has led to a further loss of genetic variation that is detrimental to the long-term survival of the population. Modifications to the breeding programme could alleviate this problem Y1 - 2004 SN - 0962-8452 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Sammler, Svenja A1 - Bleidorn, Christoph A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Full mitochondrial genome sequences of two endemic Philippine hornbill species (Aves: Bucerotidae) provide evidence for pervasive mitochondrial DNA recombination JF - BMC genomics N2 - Background: Although nowaday it is broadly accepted that mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) may undergo recombination, the frequency of such recombination remains controversial. Its estimation is not straightforward, as recombination under homoplasmy (i.e., among identical mt genomes) is likely to be overlooked. In species with tandem duplications of large mtDNA fragments the detection of recombination can be facilitated, as it can lead to gene conversion among duplicates. Although the mechanisms for concerted evolution in mtDNA are not fully understood yet, recombination rates have been estimated from "one per speciation event" down to 850 years or even "during every replication cycle". Results: Here we present the first complete mt genome of the avian family Bucerotidae, i.e., that of two Philippine hornbills, Aceros waldeni and Penelopides panini. The mt genomes are characterized by a tandemly duplicated region encompassing part of cytochrome b, 3 tRNAs, NADH6, and the control region. The duplicated fragments are identical to each other except for a short section in domain I and for the length of repeat motifs in domain III of the control region. Due to the heteroplasmy with regard to the number of these repeat motifs, there is some size variation in both genomes; with around 21,657 bp (A. waldeni) and 22,737 bp (P. panini), they significantly exceed the hitherto longest known avian mt genomes, that of the albatrosses. We discovered concerted evolution between the duplicated fragments within individuals. The existence of differences between individuals in coding genes as well as in the control region, which are maintained between duplicates, indicates that recombination apparently occurs frequently, i. e., in every generation. Conclusions: The homogenised duplicates are interspersed by a short fragment which shows no sign of recombination. We hypothesize that this region corresponds to the so-called Replication Fork Barrier (RFB), which has been described from the chicken mitochondrial genome. As this RFB is supposed to halt replication, it offers a potential mechanistic explanation for frequent recombination in mitochondrial genomes. Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2164-12-35 SN - 1471-2164 VL - 12 IS - 2 PB - BioMed Central CY - London ER -