The Near East as a cradle of biodiversity: a phylogeography of banded newts (genus Ommatotriton) reveals extensive inter- and intraspecific genetic differentiation

The banded newt (genus Ommatotriton) is widely distributed in the Near East (Anatolia, Caucasus and the Levant) – an understudied region from the perspective of phylogeography. The genus is polytypic, but the number of species included and the phylogenetic relationships between them are not settled. We sequenced two mitochondrial and two nuclear DNA markers throughout the range of Ommatotriton. For mtDNA we constructed phylogenetic trees, estimated divergence times using fossil calibration, and investigated changes in effective population size with Bayesian skyline plots and mismatch analyses. For nuDNA we constructed phylogenetic trees and haplotype networks. Species trees were constructed for all markers and nuDNA only. Species distribution models were projected on current and Last Glacial Maximum climate layers. We confirm the presence of three Ommatotriton species: O. nesterovi, O. ophryticus and O. vittatus. These species are genetically distinct and their most recent common ancest...

带纹北螈属（Ommatotriton）广泛分布于近东地区（安纳托利亚、高加索以及黎凡特）——从系统地理学（phylogeography）视角来看，该区域的研究程度仍相对不足。该属为多型属，但目前所含物种数量以及物种间的系统发育关系尚未明确。我们在该属的整个分布范围内，对2个线粒体DNA（mtDNA）标记与2个核DNA（nuDNA）标记完成了测序。针对线粒体DNA，我们构建了系统发育树，采用化石校准法估算了物种分化时间，并通过贝叶斯天际线图（Bayesian skyline plots）与错配分布分析（mismatch analyses）探究了有效种群大小的动态变化。针对核DNA，我们构建了系统发育树与单倍型网络。此外，我们针对全部标记以及仅核DNA标记分别构建了物种树。我们将物种分布模型投影至当前气候图层与末次冰盛期（Last Glacial Maximum）的气候图层上。本研究确认带纹北螈属存在3个物种：O. nesterovi、O. ophryticus与O. vittatus。这些物种在遗传层面彼此分化显著，其最近共同祖先……