Land-bridge calibration of molecular clocks and the post-glacial Colonization of Scandinavia by the Eurasian field vole Microtus agrestis.

ABSTRACT: Phylogeography interprets molecular genetic variation in a spatial and temporal context. Molecular clocks are frequently used to calibrate phylogeographic analyses, however there is mounting evidence that molecular rates decay over the relevant timescales. It is therefore essential that an appropriate rate is determined, consistent with the temporal scale of the specific analysis. This can be achieved by using temporally spaced data such as ancient DNA or by relating the divergence of lineages directly to contemporaneous external events of known time. Here we calibrate a Eurasian field vole (Microtus agrestis) mitochondrial genealogy from the well-established series of post-glacial geophysical changes that led to the formation of the Baltic Sea and the separation of the Scandinavian penins

SUBMITTER: Herman JS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4128820 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature