Paternal phylogeographic structure of the brown bear (Ursus arctos) in northeastern Asia and the effect of male-mediated gene flow to insular populations.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Sex-biased dispersal is widespread among mammals, including the brown bear (Ursus arctos). Previous phylogeographic studies of the brown bear based on maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA have shown intraspecific genetic structuring around the northern hemisphere. The brown bears on Hokkaido Island, northern Japan, comprise three distinct maternal lineages that presumably immigrated to the island from the continent in three different periods. Here, we investigate the paternal genetic structure across northeastern Asia and assess the connectivity among and within intraspecific populations in terms of male-mediated gene flow.

Results

We analyzed paternally inherited Y-chromosomal DNA sequence data and Y-linked microsatellite data of 124 brown bears from Hok

SUBMITTER: Hirata D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5707830 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature