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Kang Y, Wang Z, Yao B, An K, Pu Q, Zhang C, Zhang Z, Hou Q, Zhang D, Su J. Environmental and climatic drivers of phenotypic evolution and distribution changes in a widely distributed subfamily of subterranean mammals. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 878:163177. [PMID: 37003344 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2022] [Revised: 02/14/2023] [Accepted: 03/26/2023] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
How environmental factors shape species morphology and distributions is a key issue in ecology, especially in similar environments. Species of Myospalacinae exhibit widespread distribution spanning the eastern Eurasian steppe and the extreme adaptation to the subterranean environment, providing an excellent opportunity for investigating species responses to environmental changes. At the national scale, we here use geometric morphometric and distributional data to assess the environmental and climatic drivers of morphological evolution and distribution of Myospalacinae species in China. Based on phylogenetic relationships of Myospalacinae species constructed using genomic data in China, we integrate geometric morphometrics and ecological niche models to reveal the interspecific variation of skull morphology, trace the ancestral state, and assess factors influencing interspecific variation. Our approach further allows us to project future distributions of Myospalacinae species throughout China. We found that the interspecific morphology variations were mainly concentrated in the temporal ridge, premaxillary-frontal suture, premaxillary-maxillary suture, and molars, and the skull morphology of the two current species in Myospalacinae followed the ancestral state; temperature and precipitation were important environmental variables influencing skull morphology. Elevation, temperature annual range, and precipitation of warmest quarter were identified as dominant factors affecting the distribution of Myospalacinae species in China, and their suitable habitat area will decrease in the future. Collectively, environmental and climate changes have an effect on skull phenotypes of subterranean mammals, highlighting the contribution of phenotypic differentiation in similar environments in the formation of species phenotypes. Climate change will further shrink their habitats under future climate assumptions in the short-term. Our findings provide new insights into effects of environmental and climate change on the morphological evolution and distribution of species as well as a reference for biodiversity conservation and species management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yukun Kang
- College of Grassland Science, Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecosystem (Ministry of Education), Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China; Gansu Agricultural University-Massey University Research Centre for Grassland Biodiversity, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
| | - Zhicheng Wang
- College of Grassland Science, Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecosystem (Ministry of Education), Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China; Gansu Agricultural University-Massey University Research Centre for Grassland Biodiversity, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
| | - Baohui Yao
- College of Grassland Science, Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecosystem (Ministry of Education), Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China; Gansu Agricultural University-Massey University Research Centre for Grassland Biodiversity, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
| | - Kang An
- College of Grassland Science, Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecosystem (Ministry of Education), Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China; Gansu Agricultural University-Massey University Research Centre for Grassland Biodiversity, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
| | - Qiangsheng Pu
- College of Grassland Science, Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecosystem (Ministry of Education), Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China; Gansu Agricultural University-Massey University Research Centre for Grassland Biodiversity, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
| | - Caijun Zhang
- College of Grassland Science, Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecosystem (Ministry of Education), Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China; Gansu Agricultural University-Massey University Research Centre for Grassland Biodiversity, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
| | - Zhiming Zhang
- College of Grassland Science, Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecosystem (Ministry of Education), Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China; Gansu Agricultural University-Massey University Research Centre for Grassland Biodiversity, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
| | - Qiqi Hou
- College of Grassland Science, Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecosystem (Ministry of Education), Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China; Gansu Agricultural University-Massey University Research Centre for Grassland Biodiversity, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
| | - Degang Zhang
- College of Grassland Science, Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecosystem (Ministry of Education), Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China; Gansu Agricultural University-Massey University Research Centre for Grassland Biodiversity, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China; Gansu Qilianshan Grassland Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Wuwei 733200, China
| | - Junhu Su
- College of Grassland Science, Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecosystem (Ministry of Education), Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China; Gansu Agricultural University-Massey University Research Centre for Grassland Biodiversity, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China; Gansu Qilianshan Grassland Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Wuwei 733200, China.
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Yao B, Hegab IM, Kang Y, Tan Y, Zhang D, Su J. Underground environment increases the differentiation of personality traits between male and female plateau zokors (Eospalax baileyi). Acta Ethol 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s10211-023-00414-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/16/2023]
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Seasonal Expression of Gonadotropin Genes in the Pituitary and Testes of Male Plateau Zokor (Eospalax baileyi). Animals (Basel) 2022; 12:ani12060725. [PMID: 35327122 PMCID: PMC8944513 DOI: 10.3390/ani12060725] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2022] [Revised: 03/11/2022] [Accepted: 03/11/2022] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
The gonadotropins, luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), are glycoprotein hormones in the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis and regulate mammalian reproduction. The expression of these genes in the plateau zokor (Eospalax baileyi) is poorly understood. We characterized the immunolocalization of the luteinizing hormone receptor (LHR) and follicle stimulating hormone receptor (FSHR) in the testes and evaluated the positive immunohistochemical results and the relative mRNA expression of gonadotropin genes. During the non-breeding season (September), the relative testes weight and the seminiferous tubule diameter were significantly reduced. All germ cell types were observed during the breeding season (May), whereas only spermatogonia were observed during the non-breeding season. LHR was present in the Leydig cells whereas FSHR was present in the Sertoli cells. The mean optical density was higher during the breeding season. The mRNA expression of LHβ and FSHβ was lower in the pituitary but LHR and FSHR genes expression were higher in the testes during the breeding season. These data elucidate the expression of gonadotropin genes in the HPG axis of the male plateau zokor and suggest that gonadotropins play a vital role in the regulation of seasonal breeding.
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