Data from: Genealogy and palaeodrainage basins in Yunnan Province: phylogeography of the Yunnan spiny frog, Nanorana yunnanensis (Dicroglossidae)

Historical drainage patterns adjacent to the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau differed markedly from those of today. We examined the relationship between drainage history and geographic patterns of genetic variation in the Yunnan spiny frog, Nanorana yunnanensis, using approximately 981 base pairs of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) partial sequences from encoding genes ND1 and ND2, and intervening areas including complete tRNA Ile, tRNA Gln, and tRNA Met. Two null hypotheses were tested, including (1) that genetic patterns do not correspond to the development of drainage systems and (2) that populations had been stable and not experienced population expansion, bottlenecking and selection. Genealogical analyses identified three, major, well-supported maternal lineages, each of which had two sublineages. These divergent lineages were completely concordant with six geographical regions. Genetic structure and divergence were strongly congruent with historical rather than contemporary drainage patterns. Most lineages and sublineages were formed through population fragmentation events during the rearrangement of paleodrainage basins in the early Pliocene and early Pleistocene. Sympatric lineages occurred only in localities at the boundaries of major drainages, likely reflecting secondary contact of previously allopatric populations. Extensive population expansion probably occurred early in the Middle Pleistocene accompanying dramatic climatic oscillations.

青藏高原周边区域的古水系格局与现代水系存在显著差异。本研究以云南棘蛙（Nanorana yunnanensis）为研究对象，利用其线粒体DNA（mitochondrial DNA, mtDNA）中编码基因ND1、ND2及两者间包含完整tRNA异亮氨酸（tRNA Ile）、tRNA谷氨酰胺（tRNA Gln）与tRNA甲硫氨酸（tRNA Met）的约981个碱基对的部分序列，解析水系演化历史与该物种种群遗传变异地理格局之间的关联。本研究检验了两项零假设：其一，种群遗传格局与水系系统演化无关联；其二，种群始终处于稳定状态，未经历种群扩张、瓶颈效应与选择作用。谱系分析结果共识别出3个支持度极高的主要母系谱系，每个谱系又包含2个亚谱系。这些分化的谱系与6个地理区域完全吻合。种群遗传结构与分化程度与古水系格局而非现代水系格局高度一致。多数谱系与亚谱系均形成于上新世早期至更新世早期古流域重构过程中的种群片段化事件。仅在主要水系的边界区域存在同域分布的谱系，这大概率反映了此前地理隔离的种群发生了次级接触。伴随剧烈气候波动，大规模种群扩张大概率发生于中更新世早期。