Data from: Pleistocene survival on central Alpine nunataks: genetic evidence from the jumping bristletail Machilis pallida

Mechanisms of survival during the Pleistocene glaciation periods have been studied for more than a century. Until now, molecular studies that confirmed animal survival on Alpine nunataks, i.e., ice-free summits surrounded by glaciers, were restricted to peripheral areas. Here, we search for molecular signatures of inner-Alpine survival of the narrow-endemic and putatively parthenogenetic Alpine jumping bristletail Machilis pallida combining mitochondrial and AFLP data from its three known populations. The mitochondrial data indicate survival on both peripheral and central nunataks, the latter suggesting that refugia in the centre of the Alpine main ridge were more widespread than previously recognised. Incongruences between mitochondrial and AFLP patterns suggest a complex evolutionary history of the species and may be explained via parallel fixation of parthenogenesis of different origins during the Last Glacial Maximum. We suggest that the inferred parthenogenesis may have been essential for central-nunatak survival, but may pose a serious threat for M. pallida in consideration of the present climatic changes.更新世冰期的物种生存机制研究已有百余年历史。迄今为止，证实动物在阿尔卑斯冰原岛峰（Alpine nunataks）——即被冰川环绕的无冰峰顶——存活的分子研究，均仅局限于外围区域。本研究针对狭域特有且疑似孤雌生殖的阿尔卑斯跳虫（Machilis pallida），整合其三个已知种群的线粒体数据与扩增片段长度多态性（AFLP）数据，探寻该物种在阿尔卑斯内陆的生存分子特征。线粒体数据分析结果显示，该物种既在外围冰原岛峰、也在中部冰原岛峰实现存活，这一结果提示阿尔卑斯主脊中部的避难所分布范围，较此前学界的认知更为广泛。线粒体与AFLP图谱之间的不一致性，暗示该物种拥有复杂的演化历史，其成因或可归结为末次盛冰期期间，不同起源的孤雌生殖性状发生了平行固定。我们推测，本研究推断的孤雌生殖特性，或许是该物种得以在中部冰原岛峰存活的关键因素；但结合当前气候变化背景，该特性可能会对阿尔卑斯跳虫构成严重生存威胁。