Magdalena Moska

A hybrid zone between the chromosomal races Łęgucki Młyn and Popielno of the common shrew in north-eastern Poland: preliminary results

A newly discovered hybrid zone between two karyotypic races, Łęgucki Młyn (g/r, h/k, i/o, j/l, m/n, p, q) and Popielno (g/r, h/q, i/k, j/l, m/n, o, p), of the common shrewSorex araneus Linnaeus, 1758 has been studied in north-eastern Poland. In the Łęgucki Młyn/Popielno hybrid zone the complex heterozygotes form theoretically only short meiotic chain configurations, consisting of four or five elements. In all hybrid populations a high frequency of complex heterozygotes was observed, varying from 0.30 to 0.43 between localities. In the centre of the hybrid zone the frequencies of telocentricsh andk increased. In two individuals of the hybrid populations (Krutyń I and Krutyń II), homozygous telocentric for chromosome armsh, i, k, o andq were observed.

A microsatellite study in the Łęgucki Młyn/Popielno hybrid zone reveals no genetic differentiation between two chromosome races of the common shrew (Sorex araneus)

This study investigated a chromosome hybrid zone between two chromosomal races of the common shrew (Sorex araneus). Gene flow and genetic structure of the hybrid zone, located in the northeast of Poland, were studied using seven polymorphic autosomal microsatellite loci (L9, L14, L33, L45, L67, L68, L97) and a Y-linked microsatellite locus (L8Y). Seventy-five animals (46 of the Łęgucki Młyn race and 29 of the Popielno race) from nine different localities were examined and the data were analyzed using hierarchical AMOVA and F-statistic. The studied microsatellite loci and races (divided into nine geographical populations) were characterized by observed heterozygosity (HO), expected heterozygosities within (HS), and between (HT) populations, inbreeding coefficient (FIS), fixation index (FST), and average allelic richness (A). We found that genetic structuring within and between the two chromosome races were weak and non-significant. This finding and unconstrained gene flow between the races indicates a high level of migration within the Łęgucki Młyn/Popielno hybrid zone, suggesting that evolutionarily important genetic structuring does not occur in interracial zones where races which are not genetically distinct come into contact.

Evolutionary history and phylogeographic relationships of shrews from Sorex araneus group

Shrews of the Sorex genus are an evolutionarily successful group that includes more than 77 species widely distributed in Eurasia and North America. The genus is one of the rare cases where karyotypic changes reflect well the evolutionary relationships among its species. The taxa showing the greatest variation in karyotype are usually classified into the Sorex araneus group. Its evolution was associated with chromosomal rearrangements, which could have promoted fast diversification of this group into many chromosomal races and species. These processes were additionally complicated by introgressions of mitochondrial DNA, which made the evolutionary history of this group quite complex and difficult to infer. To tackle the problem, we performed multi-method phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial cytochrome b that is considered a good molecular marker available for many representatives of Sorex. The results were compared with phylogenies based on chromosomal rearrangement data and put into temporal and spatial context using molecular dating and historical biogeography methods. We complemented the study with the estimation of diversification rates within the S. araneus group as well as comparing the results with paleontological records and climatic oscillations within the last 4 million years. Based on the gathered data, we proposed a hypothetical scenario for the evolution and geographic dispersion of species belonging to the S. araneus group. The shrews began to diversify about 2.7 million years ago in Eurasia and then migrated at least twice to North America. The evolution of shrews was driven by Pleistocene glacial and interglacial cycles, which increased their speciation rate and the emergence of new lineages. The migrations of populations were accompanied by introgressions of mitochondrial DNA into native shrews and occurred at least twice.

Microsatellite polymorphism and its association with body weight and selected morphometrics of farm red fox (Vulpes vulpes L.)

Polymorphism of 30 canine-derived microsatellites was studied in a group of 200 red foxes kept on 2 Polish farms. 22 out of 30 microsatellites were selected to study association between marker genotypes and body weight (BW), body length (BL), body circumference (BC), tail length (TL), ear height (EH), length of the right front limb (FRLL), length of the right rear limb (RRLL), length of the right front foot (FRFL) and length of the right rear foot (RRFL). A total of 112 alleles and 243 genotypes were found at 22 autosomal microsatellite loci. Three monomorphic loci deemed as uninformative were excluded from the study. The association between marker genotypes and the studied traits was analysed using general linear model (GLM) procedure and least squares means (LSM). Linkage disequilibrium (LD) was estimated to assess non-random association between microsatellite loci. Out of 19 microsatellites studied four markers showed no association with the studied traits, three markers had a significant effect on one trait, and another three markers had significant effect on two traits. Among ten microsatellites with significant effect on four economically important traits (BW, BL, BC, TL) four were associated with two characters: marker FH2613 with BW and BC, marker FH2097withBL and BC, marker ZUBECA6 with BW and BC, whereas marker REN75M10 was associated with BL and TL. The strongest LD (r2 ranged from 0.15 to 0.33) was estimated between nine loci with significant effect on economically important traits (BW, BL, BC, TL).

Variation of the Common Shrew (Sorex Araneus L.) Dentition

Variation of the Common Shrew (Sorex Araneus L.) Dentition Variation of the upper arch dentition was studied in 162 individuals of Sorex araneus. Seven types of dentition were observed. Type V dentition was the most common (constituting 54.2% of the analysed dental rows), while type VII2 was the rarest (1.4%). Dental anomalies, i.e. retention or polyodontia, were not found in the analysed material. Zróżnicowanie Uzębienia Ryjówki Aksamitnej (Sorex Araneus L.) Zbadano zróżnicowanie uzębienia górnego łuku zębowego 162 osobników S. araneus. W badanym materiale stwierdzono występowanie 7 różnych typów uzębienia. Najczęściej występującym typem był typ V (stanowiący 54,2% przeanalizowanych szeregów zębowych), a najrzadziej typ VII2 (odpowiednio 1,4%). Nie stwierdzono występowania typu VI. Brak w badanym materiale anomalii uzębienia tj. retencji lub polidoncji.

Comparative analysis of morphometrics of wild and farm foxes (Vulpes vulpes L.) – preliminary results

Nowadays, an interesting aspect of animal farming is the possibility to analyze genetic, morphometric and behavioural changes in farm animals, which have taken place as a result of selective breeding. Then, the comparative analysis with wild animals can be done. Fur animals (fox, mink, raccoon dog) have relatively short history of domestication, so an interesting point is if this process affected body measurements of those species. The aim of the present study was to analyze and compare several body measurements of wild and farm foxes. The analyzed traits were: body weight, body length and circumference, tail length, ears height, length of front and hind limbs, length of front and hind feet. Farm animals were characterized by higher values of all traits (except tail length and ear height), than wild ones and these differences were statistically significant. Smaller differences between wild and captive populations were found for traits which were not crucial for species survival (e.g. tail length and ears height). Comparison between sexes showed that they differed in many size measurements, but measurements of females from the farm population and males from the wild population were comparable.