Effects of mitochondrial DNA rate variation on reconstruction of Pleistocene demographic history in a social avian species, Pomatostomus superciliosus.

ABSTRACT: Mitochondrial sequence data is often used to reconstruct the demographic history of Pleistocene populations in an effort to understand how species have responded to past climate change events. However, departures from neutral equilibrium conditions can confound evolutionary inference in species with structured populations or those that have experienced periods of population expansion or decline. Selection can affect patterns of mitochondrial DNA variation and variable mutation rates among mitochondrial genes can compromise inferences drawn from single markers. We investigated the contribution of these factors to patterns of mitochondrial variation and estimates of time to most recent common ancestor (TMRCA) for two clades in a co-operatively breeding avian species, the white-browed babbler

SUBMITTER: Norman JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4152169 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature