Cryptic population structuring and the role of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec as a gene flow barrier in the critically endangered Central American River Turtle.

ABSTRACT: The critically endangered Central American River Turtle (Dermatemys mawii) is the only remaining member of the Dermatemydidae family, yet little is known about its population structuring. In a previous study of mitochondrial (mt) DNA in the species, three main lineages were described. One lineage (Central) was dominant across most of the range, while two other lineages were restricted to Papaloapan (PAP; isolated by the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and the Sierra de Santa Marta) or the south-eastern part of the range (1D). Here we provide data from seven polymorphic microsatellite loci and the R35 intron to re-evaluate these findings using DNA from the nuclear genome. Based on a slightly expanded data set of a total of 253 samples from the same localities, we find that mtDNA and nuclear DNA mark

SUBMITTER: Gonzalez-Porter GP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3783458 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature