Ancient DNA of narrow-headed vole reveal common features of the Late Pleistocene population dynamics in cold-adapted small mammals

Author(s)
Mateusz Baca, Danijela Popović, Alexander K Agadzhanyan, Katarzyna Baca, Nicholas J Conard, Helen Fewlass, Thomas Filek, Michał Golubiński, Ivan Horáček, Monika V Knul, Magdalena Krajcarz, Maria Krokhaleva, Loïc Lebreton, Anna Lemanik, Lutz C Maul, Doris Nagel, Pierre Noiret, Jérome Primault, Leonid Rekovets, Sara E Rhodes, Aurélien Royer, Natalia V Serdyuk, Marie Soressi, John R Stewart, Tatiana Strukova, Sahra Talamo, Jarosław Wilczyński, Adam Nadachowski
Abstract

The narrow-headed vole, collared lemming and common vole were the most abundant small mammal species across the Eurasian Late Pleistocene steppe-tundra environment. Previous ancient DNA studies of the collared lemming and common vole have revealed dynamic population histories shaped by climatic fluctuations. To investigate the extent to which species with similar adaptations share common evolutionary histories, we generated a dataset comprised the mitochondrial genomes of 139 ancient and 6 modern narrow-headed voles from several sites across Europe and northwestern Asia covering approximately the last 100 thousand years (kyr). We inferred Bayesian time-aware phylogenies using 11 radiocarbon-dated samples to calibrate the molecular clock. Divergence of the main mtDNA lineages across the three species occurred during marine isotope stages (MIS) 7 and MIS 5, suggesting a common response of species adapted to open habitat during interglacials. We identified several time-structured mtDNA lineages in European narrow-headed vole, suggesting lineage turnover. The timing of some of these turnovers was synchronous across the three species, allowing us to identify the main drivers of the Late Pleistocene dynamics of steppe- and cold-adapted species.

Organisation(s)
Department of Palaeontology, Center for Science Education Research (AECCs)
External organisation(s)
University of Warsaw, Russian Academy of Sciences, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Max-Planck-Institut für evolutionäre Anthropologie, Charles University Prague, University of Winchester, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Polish Academy of Sciences (PAS), Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Université de Liège, DRAC Auvergne - Rhône Alpes, Ministère de la Culture, Lyon Cedex 01, France., University of Wrocław, University of Algavre, University of Burgundy, Leiden University, Bournemouth University, University of Bologna
Journal
Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences
Volume
290
Pages
20222238
ISSN
0962-8452
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2022.2238
Publication date
02-2023
Peer reviewed
Yes
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
105118 Palaeontology
Keywords
ASJC Scopus subject areas
General Agricultural and Biological Sciences, General Environmental Science, General Biochemistry,Genetics and Molecular Biology, General Immunology and Microbiology
Portal url
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/497ac7a4-7b3e-444a-bf8b-85c123a75050