Population genetic structure of European wildcats inhabiting the area between the Dinaric Alps and the Scardo‑Pindic mountains
Autor: | Magda Sindičić, Duško Ćirović, Dean Konjević, Felicita Urzi, Hubert Potočnik, Elena Buzan, Nikica Šprem, Dime Melovski, Luka Duniš, Andrea Rezić |
---|---|
Jazyk: | angličtina |
Rok vydání: | 2021 |
Předmět: |
Genotype
Population genetics Croatia Science Population biology.animal_breed Slovenia Zoology Animals Wild DNA Mitochondrial Article Gene Frequency Genetic variation Animals education Alleles Isolation by distance education.field_of_study Multidisciplinary Habitat fragmentation biology Genetic Variation Genetic hybridization Republic of North Macedonia humanities Phylogeography Geography Genetic structure European wildcat Cats Felis silvestris hybrids microsatellites Medicine Hybridization Genetic Species richness Serbia Microsatellite Repeats |
Zdroj: | Scientific Reports Scientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-11 (2021) |
Popis: | Habitat fragmentation and loss have contributed significantly to the demographic decline of European wildcat populations and hybridization with domestic cats poses a threat to the loss of genetic purity of the species. In this study we used microsatellite markers to analyse genetic variation and structure of the wildcat populations from the area between the Dinaric Alps and the Scardo-Pindic mountains in Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and North Macedonia. We also investigated hybridisation between populations of wildcats and domestic cats in the area. One hundred and thirteen samples from free-leaving European wildcats and thirty-two samples from domestic cats were analysed. Allelic richness across populations ranged from 3.61 to 3.98. The observed Ho values ranged between 0.57 and 0.71. The global FST value for the four populations was 0.080 (95% CI 0.056–0.109) and differed significantly from zero (P ST value was observed between the populations North Macedonia and Slovenia and the lowest between Slovenia and Croatia. We also found a signal for the existence of isolation by distance between populations. Our results showed that wildcats are divided in two genetic clusters largely consistent with a geographic division into a genetically diverse northern group (Slovenia, Croatia) and genetically eroded south-eastern group (Serbia, N. Macedonia). Hybridisation rate between wildcats and domestic cats varied between 13% and 52% across the regions. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
Externí odkaz: |