Search

The wild boar Sus scrofa is one of the widely spread ungulate species in Europe, yet the origin and genetic structure of the population inhabiting Central and Eastern Europe are not well recognized. We analysed 101 newly obtained sequences of complete mtDNA genomes and 548 D-loop sequences of the species and combined them with previously published data. We identified five phylogenetic clades in Europe with clear phylogeographic pattern. Two of them occurred mainly in western and central part of the continent, while the range of the third clade covered North-Eastern, Central and South-Eastern Europe. The two other clades had rather restricted distribution. In Central Europe, we identified a contact zone of three mtDNA clades. Population genetic structure reflected clear phylogeographic pattern of wild boar in this part of Europe. The contribution of lineages originating from the southern (Dinaric-Balkan) and eastern (northern cost of the Black Sea) areas to the observed phylogeographic pattern of the species in Central and Eastern Europe was larger than those from the regions located in southern France, Iberian, and Italian Peninsulas. The present work was the first mitogenomic analysis conducted in Central and Eastern Europe to study genetic diversity and structure of wild boar population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim Climate changes in the past had a deep impact on the evolutionary history of many species and left genetic signatures that are often still detectable today. We investigated the geographical pattern of mitochondrial DNA diversity in the European wild boar ( Sus scrofa). Our final aims were to clarify the influence of present and past climatic conditions, infer the geographical position of glacial refugia, and suggest post-glacial spatial dynamics. Location Europe. Methods D-loop sequences were obtained for 763 individuals from Portugal to western Russia. Phylogenetic, multivariate and interpolation methods were used to describe the genetic and geographical patterns. Climatic suitability during the Last Glacial Maximum ( LGM) was predicted using MaxEnt. The effect of present and past suitability on the observed patterns of diversity was evaluated by multiple linear regression. Results We confirmed the existence of a ubiquitous mitochondrial clade in Europe (E1), an endemic clade in Italy (E2) and a few East Asian haplotypes (A), presumably introgressed from domestic pigs. No Near Eastern haplotypes were detected. Genetic divergence was not simply related to geographical distance. A clear south-north decreasing gradient of diversity was observed, with maximum levels in putative glacial refugia. Latitudinal variation in climatic conditions during the LGM was shown to be a good predictor of current genetic diversity. Moreover, an unexpected similarity between Iberia and eastern Europe was observed, while central European populations showed a higher affinity to the Italian gene pool. Main conclusions The current distribution of mitochondrial genetic diversity was highly influenced by past climatic events, especially those related to the LGM, and is consistent with a major contribution of the Italian peninsula and the Balkans to the post-glacial recolonization of northern areas. More recent processes, such as restocking and extensive hunting, probably acted at rather local scales, without great impact on the global pattern of mitochondrial diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The wild boar (Sus scrofa) is one of the most widely distributed mammals in Europe. Its demography was affected by various events in the past and today populations are increasing throughout Europe. We examined genetic diversity, structure and population dynamics of wild boar in Central and Eastern Europe. MtDNA control region (664 bp) was sequenced in 254 wild boar from six countries (Poland, Hungary, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova and the European part of Russia). We detected 16 haplotypes, all known from previous studies in Europe; 14 of them belonged to European 1 (E1) clade, including 13 haplotypes from E1-C and one from E1-A lineages. Two haplotypes belonged respectively to the East Asian and the Near Eastern clade. Both haplotypes were found in Russia and most probably originated from the documented translocations of wild boar. The studied populations showed moderate haplotype (0.714±0.023) and low nucleotide diversity (0.003±0.002). SAMOVA grouped the genetic structuring of Central and Eastern European wild boar into three subpopulations, comprising of: (1) north-eastern Belarus and the European part of Russia, (2) Poland, Ukraine, Moldova and most of Belarus, and (3) Hungary. The multimodal mismatch distribution, Fu's Fs index, Bayesian skyline plot and the high occurrence of shared haplotypes among populations did not suggest strong demographic fluctuations in wild boar numbers in the Holocene and pre-Holocene times. This study showed relatively weak genetic diversity and structure in Central and Eastern European wild boar populations and underlined gaps in our knowledge on the role of southern refugia and demographic processes shaping genetic diversity of wild boar in this part of Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]