Data from: European wildcat populations are subdivided into five main biogeographic groups: consequences of Pleistocene climate changes or recent anthropogenic fragmentation?

Extant populations of the European wildcat are fragmented across the continent, the likely consequence of recent extirpations due to habitat loss and over-hunting. However, their underlying phylogeographic history has never been reconstructed. For testing the hypothesis that the European wildcat survived the Ice Age fragmented in Mediterranean refuges, we assayed the genetic variation at 31 microsatellites in 668 presumptive European wildcats sampled in 15 European countries. Moreover, to evaluate the extent of subspecies/population divergence and identify eventual wild × domestic cat hybrids, we genotyped 26 African wildcats from Sardinia and North Africa and 294 random-bred domestic cats. Results of multivariate analyses and Bayesian clustering confirmed that the European wild and the domestic cats (plus the African wildcats) belong to two well-differentiated clusters (average ФST = 0.159, rst = 0.392, P > 0.001; Analysis of molecular variance [AMOVA]). We identified from c. 5% to 10% cryptic hybrids in southern and central European populations. In contrast, wild-living cats in Hungary and Scotland showed deep signatures of genetic admixture and introgression with domestic cats. The European wildcats are subdivided into five main genetic clusters (average ФST = 0.103, rst = 0.143, P > 0.001; AMOVA) corresponding to five biogeographic groups, respectively, distributed in the Iberian Peninsula, central Europe, central Germany, Italian Peninsula and the island of Sicily, and in north-eastern Italy and northern Balkan regions (Dinaric Alps). Approximate Bayesian Computation simulations supported late Pleistocene–early Holocene population splittings (from c. 60 k to 10 k years ago), contemporary to the last Ice Age climatic changes. These results provide evidences for wildcat Mediterranean refuges in southwestern Europe, but the evolution history of eastern wildcat populations remains to be clarified. Historical genetic subdivisions suggest conservation strategies aimed at enhancing gene flow through the restoration of ecological corridors within each biogeographic units. Concomitantly, the risk of hybridization with free-ranging domestic cats along corridor edges should be carefully monitored.

现存的欧洲野猫（European wildcat）种群在欧洲大陆呈碎片化分布，这一现象大概率为近期栖息地丧失与过度捕猎导致种群局部灭绝所引发的结果。然而，其内在的系统地理学历史迄今尚未被系统重建。为验证欧洲野猫在冰河时期于地中海避难所中残存并形成碎片化种群这一假说，我们对15个欧洲国家采集的668只疑似欧洲野猫个体的31个微卫星（microsatellite）位点的遗传变异进行了检测。此外，为评估亚种与种群的分化程度并甄别潜在的野生×家猫杂交个体，我们对来自撒丁岛与北非的26只非洲野猫，以及294只随机繁育家猫进行了基因分型。多变量分析与贝叶斯聚类（Bayesian clustering）结果证实，欧洲野猫、家猫（含非洲野猫）可划分为两个分化显著的类群（平均ФST=0.159，rst=0.392，P>0.001；分子方差分析（Analysis of Molecular Variance, AMOVA））。我们在欧洲南部与中部的种群中鉴定出了约5%至10%的隐秘杂交个体。与之形成对比的是，匈牙利与苏格兰的野生栖息猫表现出与家猫强烈的遗传混合与基因渐渗（introgression）信号。欧洲野猫可进一步划分为5个主要的遗传类群（平均ФST=0.103，rst=0.143，P>0.001；AMOVA），分别对应分布于伊比利亚半岛、中欧、德国中部、意大利半岛与西西里岛，以及意大利东北部与巴尔干北部（迪纳拉阿尔卑斯山区）的5个生物地理群。近似贝叶斯计算（Approximate Bayesian Computation）模拟结果支持，欧洲野猫的种群分化事件发生于晚更新世至全新世早期（约6万至1万年前），与末次冰期的气候变化同期。上述结果为欧洲西南部的野猫地中海避难所假说提供了有力支撑，但东部野猫种群的演化历史仍有待进一步阐明。基于历史形成的遗传分化格局，我们建议制定针对性的保护策略，通过修复各生物地理单元内的生态廊道以促进种群间的基因交流。与此同时，需重点监测生态廊道沿线与散养家猫发生杂交的潜在风险。