Data from: Admixture of eastern and western European red deer lineages as a result of postglacial re-colonisation of the Czech Republic (Central Europe)

Due to a restriction of the distributional range of European red deer (Cervus elaphus L.) during the Quaternary and subsequent recolonization of Europe from different refugia, a clear phylogeographical pattern in genetic structure has been revealed using mitochondrial DNA markers. In Central Europe, 2 distinct, eastern and western, lineages of European red deer are present; however, admixture between them has not yet been studied in detail. We used mitochondrial DNA (control region and cytochrome b gene) sequences and 22 microsatellite loci from 522 individuals to investigate the genetic diversity of red deer in what might be expected to be an intermediate zone. We discovered a high number of unique mtDNA haplotypes belonging to each lineage and high levels of genetic diversity (cyt b H = 0.867, D-loop H = 0.914). The same structuring of red deer populations was also revealed by microsatellite analysis, with results from both analyses thus suggesting a suture zone between the 2 lineages. Despite the fact that postglacial recolonization of Central Europe by red deer occurred more than 10000 years ago, the degree of admixture between the 2 lineages is relatively small, with only 10.8% admixed individuals detected. Direct translocations of animals by humans have slightly blurred the pattern in this region; however, this blurring was more apparent when using maternally inherited markers than nuclear markers.

受第四纪冰期欧洲马鹿（Cervus elaphus L.）分布范围受限，以及后续从不同冰期避难地重新定居欧洲的事件影响，研究人员通过线粒体DNA（mitochondrial DNA, mtDNA）标记已揭示其遗传结构中清晰的系统地理格局。中欧地区现存两个明确的欧洲马鹿支系：东部支系与西部支系，但二者间的基因混杂尚未得到细致研究。本研究采集了522个个体的线粒体DNA控制区（D-loop区）及细胞色素b基因序列与22个微卫星位点数据，旨在探究该疑似过渡区域内马鹿的遗传多样性。我们发现两个支系各自拥有大量独特的mtDNA单倍型，且遗传多样性水平较高（细胞色素b基因单倍型多样性H=0.867，D-loop区单倍型多样性H=0.914）。微卫星分析同样揭示了马鹿种群的上述遗传结构，两项分析结果均表明两个支系之间存在一处遗传缝合带。尽管马鹿在末次冰期后重新定居中欧的时间已超过1万年，但两个支系间的基因混杂程度仍相对较低，仅检测到10.8%的混杂个体。人类直接引种鹿群的行为略微模糊了该区域的遗传格局，但相较于核标记，母系遗传标记所呈现的这种格局模糊现象更为显著。