Molecular genetics and quantitative traits divergence among populations of Eothenomys miletus from Hengduan Mountain region

An important objective of evolutionary biology has always been to grasp the evolutionary and genetic processes that contribute to speciation. The present work provides the first detailed account of the genetic and physiological adaptation to changing environmental temperatures as well as the reasons causing intraspecific divergence in the Eothenomys miletus from the Hengduan Mountain (HM) region, one of the biodiversity hotspots. One hundred sixty-one E. miletus individuals from five populations in the HM region had their reduced-representation genome sequenced, and one additional individual from each community had their genomes resequenced. We then characterized the genetic diversity and population structure of each population and compared the phenotypic divergence in traits using neutral molecular markers. We detected significant phenotypic and genetic alterations in E. miletus from the HM region that were related to naturally occurring diverse habitats by combining morphometrics and genomic techniques. There was asymmetric gene flow among the E. miletus populations, indicating that five E. miletus populations exhibit an isolation-by-island model, and this was supported by the correlation between F-ST and geographic distance. Finally, P-ST estimated by phenotypic measures of most wild traits were higher than differentiation at neutral molecular markers, indicating directional natural selection favoring different phenotypes in different populations must have been involved to achieve this much differentiation. Our findings give information on the demographic history of E. miletus, new insights into their evolution and adaptability, and literature for studies of a similar nature on other wild small mammals from the HM region.

Automated summary

This study provides the first detailed account of the genetic and physiological adaptation to changing environmental temperatures and the reasons causing intraspecific divergence in Eothenomys miletus from the Hengduan Mountain region. Significant phenotypic and genetic alterations were observed in E. miletus populations from the HM region, and there was asymmetric gene flow among these populations, indicating an isolation-by-island model.