Ancient DNA of northern China Hystricidae sub-fossils reveals the evolutionary history of old world porcupines in the Late Pleistocene

BMC Evolutionary Biology

article

Sheng, Guilian¹  Hu, Jiaming¹  Tong, Haowen³  Llamas, Bastien⁴  Yuan, Junxia⁵  Hou, Xindong¹  Chen, Shungang⁵  Xiao, Bo¹  Lai, Xulong² 

[1] School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences;State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences;Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences;Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, School of Biological Sciences, Environment Institute, University of Adelaide;Faculty of Materials Science and Chemistry, China University of Geosciences;Faculty of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences

关键词: Porcupine;    Ancient DNA;    Phylogenetic analysis;    Evolutionary history;    Pleistocene;    China;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12862-020-01656-x

学科分类：护理学

来源: BioMed Central

【 摘 要 】

Old World porcupines (Family: Hystricidae) are the third-largest rodents and inhabit southern Europe, Asia, and most regions of Africa. They are a typical indicator of warm climate and their distribution is restricted to tropical and subtropical zones. In China, porcupines are widely distributed in southern areas of the Yangtze River. However, fossil remains have been identified in a few sites in northern China, among which Tianyuan Cave—near Zhoukoudian site—represents the latest known porcupine fossil record. So far, studies have focused mainly on porcupines’ husbandry and domestication but little is known about their intrafamilial phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary history. In this study, we sequence partial mitochondrial 12S rRNA and cyt b genes for seven Late Pleistocene porcupine individuals from Northern, Southern and Central China. Phylogenetic analyses show that the Tianyuan Cave porcupines, which had been morphologically identified as Hystrix subcristata, have a closer relationship to Hystrix brachyura. Together with morphological adaptation characteristics, associated fauna, and climate change evidence, the molecular results reveal that a Late Quaternary extirpation has occurred during the evolutionary history of porcupines.

【 授权许可】

CC BY|CC0