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Iacolina L, Buzan E, Safner T, Bašić N, Geric U, Tesija T, Lazar P, Arnal MC, Chen J, Han J, Šprem N. A Mother's Story, Mitogenome Relationships in the Genus Rupicapra. Animals (Basel) 2021; 11:ani11041065. [PMID: 33918642 PMCID: PMC8069603 DOI: 10.3390/ani11041065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2021] [Revised: 03/31/2021] [Accepted: 04/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Two species of chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra and R. pyrenaica) are currently recognized by taxonomy and further subdivided into seven and three subspecies, respectively. However, recent research based on molecular markers finds this classification questionable. We aim to increase the resolution of published research on chamois phylogeny by including mitogenomes of all available subspecies, including the previously unpublished mitogenomes of R. r. balcanica and R. r. tatrica subspecies. The inferred phylogeny based on the full mitogenomes confirms the previously reported genus subdivision in three clades and its monophyletic positioning within the Caprinae. Phylogeny and taxonomy of Rupicapra species thus remain controversial prompting for the inclusion of archeological remains to solve the controversy. Abstract Although the two species of chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra and R. pyrenaica) are currently classified as least-concern by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), inconsistencies on the subspecies classification reported in literature make it challenging to assess the conservation status of the single subspecies. Previous studies relying on mitochondrial genes, sometimes in combination with nuclear or Y-chromosome markers, reported the presence of clusters corresponding to the geographic distribution but highlighting ambiguities in the genus phylogeny. Here we report novel de novo assembled sequences of the mitochondrial genome from nine individuals, including previously unpublished R. r. balcanica and R. r. tatrica subspecies, and use them to untangle the genus phylogeny. Our results based on the full mitogenome inferred phylogeny confirm the previously reported genus subdivision in three clades and its monophyletic positioning within the Caprinae. Phylogeny and taxonomy of Rupicapra species thus remain controversial prompting for the inclusion of archeological remains to solve the controversy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Iacolina
- Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; (L.I.); (T.T.); (N.Š.)
- Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies, University of Primorska, 6000 Koper, Slovenia; (E.B.); (N.B.); (U.G.)
- Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, 9220 Aalborg, Denmark
| | - Elena Buzan
- Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies, University of Primorska, 6000 Koper, Slovenia; (E.B.); (N.B.); (U.G.)
- Environmental Protection College, 3320 Velenje, Slovenia
| | - Toni Safner
- Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; (L.I.); (T.T.); (N.Š.)
- Centre of Excellence for Biodiversity and Molecular Plant Breeding (CoE CroP-BioDiv), 1000 Zagreb, Croatia
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +385-91-542-8870
| | - Nino Bašić
- Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies, University of Primorska, 6000 Koper, Slovenia; (E.B.); (N.B.); (U.G.)
- Andrej Marušič Institute, University of Primorska, 6000 Koper, Slovenia
- Institute of Mathematics, Physics, and Mechanics, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Urska Geric
- Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies, University of Primorska, 6000 Koper, Slovenia; (E.B.); (N.B.); (U.G.)
| | - Toni Tesija
- Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; (L.I.); (T.T.); (N.Š.)
| | - Peter Lazar
- Department of Breeding and Diseases of Game, Fish and Bees, Ecology and Cynology, University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy, Komenského 73, 04181 Košice, Slovakia;
| | - María Cruz Arnal
- Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Zaragoza, 50013 Zaragoza, Spain;
| | - Jianhai Chen
- Institutes for Systems Genetics, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China;
| | - Jianlin Han
- Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing 100193, China;
| | - Nikica Šprem
- Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; (L.I.); (T.T.); (N.Š.)
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