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迄今已有百余年历史。截至目前，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）存活的分子生物学研究仅局限于外围区域。本研究针对狭域特有且推测具有孤雌生殖特性的阿尔卑斯跳蛃（Machilis pallida），整合其已知三个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腹地的生存分子特征。线粒体数据分析显示，该物种在外围与中部冰原岛峰均有存活迹象，其中中部冰原岛峰的结果表明，阿尔卑斯主脊中部的避难所分布范围较此前认知更为广泛。线粒体与AFLP数据模式间的不一致性，暗示该物种演化历史较为复杂，这一现象可通过末次盛冰期（Last Glacial Maximum）期间不同起源的孤雌生殖平行固定事件加以解释。本研究提出，推测得到的孤雌生殖特性或许是该物种在中部冰原岛峰存活的必要条件，但结合当前气候变化，该特性或会对Machilis pallida构成严重生存威胁。