Single nucleotide polymorphisms

Aim: Understanding the phylogeography of a species complex can provide important insights into its evolutionary history. However, phylogeographic inference often faces the dilemma of regionally inadequate sampling. Pungitius sticklebacks are a case in point: although the highest species diversity is found in Northeast Asia, their phylogeography in this region is still poorly understood.

Location: Northeast Asia

Methods: With the aid of whole genome resequencing data, we investigated the phylogeography of Northeast Asian Pungitius sticklebacks, with newly sampled 83 world-wide Pungitius individuals from 11 locations including eight Chinese locations reported to host only P. sinensis.

Results: We discovered that three of these locations hosted populations of P. kaibarae and P. bussei, species new to the fauna of China. Phylogeographic analyses further clarified the sequence and timing of colonization of Northeast Asia by different Pungitius species, shedding new light on their or...