Phylogeographic analyses of an endemic Neotropical fox (Lycalopex vetulus) reveal evidence of hybridization with a different canid species (L. gymnocercus).

Autor:	Garcez FS; Laboratório de Biologia Genômica e Molecular, Escola de Ciências da Saúde e da Vida, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil., Tchaicka L; Departamento de Química e Biologia, Centro de Educação, Ciências Exatas e Naturais (CECEN), Universidade Estadual do Maranhão (UEMA), São Luís, MA, Brazil., Lemos FG; Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Catalão (UFCAT), Programa de Conservação de Mamíferos do Cerrado (PCMC), Catalão, GO, Brazil., Kasper CB; Laboratório de Biologia de Mamíferos e Aves (LABIMAVE), Universidade Federal do Pampa (UNIPAMPA), São Gabriel, RS, Brazil., Dalponte JC; Instituto para a Conservação dos Carnívoros Neotropicais (Pró-Carnívoros), Atibaia, SP, Brazil., Eizirik E; Laboratório de Biologia Genômica e Molecular, Escola de Ciências da Saúde e da Vida, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.; Instituto para a Conservação dos Carnívoros Neotropicais (Pró-Carnívoros), Atibaia, SP, Brazil.
Jazyk:	angličtina
Zdroj:	The Journal of heredity [J Hered] 2024 Jul 10; Vol. 115 (4), pp. 399-410.
DOI:	10.1093/jhered/esae012
Abstrakt:	The hoary fox (Lycalopex vetulus) is the only species of the Canidae (Mammalia: Carnivora) endemic to Brazil, and so far has been the target of few genetic studies. Using microsatellites and mtDNA markers, we investigated its present genetic diversity and population structure. We also tested the hypothesis that this species currently hybridizes with the pampas fox (L. gymnocercus), as suggested by previous mtDNA data from two individuals. We collected tissue and blood samples from animals representing most of the two species' distributions in Brazil (n = 87), including their recently discovered geographic contact zone in São Paulo state. We observed that the hoary fox exhibits high levels of genetic diversity and low levels of population structure. We identified six individuals from São Paulo state with clear evidence of hybridization based on introgressed pampas fox mitochondrial DNA and/or admixed microsatellite genotypes (three individuals bore both types of evidence). These results demonstrate the existence of admixed individuals between hoary and pampas foxes in southeastern Brazil, representing the first identified case of interspecies admixture between native South American canids. We discuss our findings in the context of the evolutionary history of these foxes and address potential conservation implications of this interspecies hybridization process. (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The American Genetic Association. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.)
Databáze:	MEDLINE
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