Genetic analyses of brown hare (Lepus europaeus) support limited migration and translocation of Greek populations.

ABSTRACT: Numerous studies have shown that the phylogeography of many species, including European brown hare, has been affected by the climatic oscillations of the Pleistocene. During this period the Balkans acted as a major refugium offering habitable conditions for many species. However, few studies have focused on the specific role of the Greek peninsula in the phylogeographic history of species in this southernmost margin of Balkans. We, therefore analyzed a 528 bp fragment of the D-loop region of mitochondrial DNA in 154 wild brown hare individuals from unsampled areas from both mainland and island Greece and compared it to 310 available brown hare sequences (including 110 Greek samples). Newly identified haplotypes show characteristic distribution in specific Greek areas reinforcing the theory

SUBMITTER: Minoudi S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6209229 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature