Abstract
Maternal lineages of mitochondrion DNA (mtDNA) are conceived as
important components of intra- and inter-specific biodiversity and help
us to disclose phylogeny and divergence time of many taxa. Species of
the genus Capra are canonical mountain dwellers. Among these is
Siberian ibex (Capra sibirica) that is regarded as a relic
species and its intra-specific classification is controversial so far.
We collected 54 samples in Xinjiang, China, and analyzed the mtDNA genes
to shed light on the intra-specific relationships of the C.
sibirica populations and estimated the divergence time. Intriguingly,
we found that the mtDNA sequences of C. sibirica split into two
main lineages in both phylogenetic and network analyses: the southern
lineage, sister to C. falconeri, consisting of samples from
India, Ulugqat, and Kagilik in Xinjiang; and the northern lineage
further divided into four monophyletic clades A–D corresponding to
their geographic origins. Samples from Urumqi, Sawan and Arturk formed a
distinct monophyletic clade C within the northern lineage. The genetic
distance between the C. sibirica clades ranges from 3 to 8.6
percent, with values of FST between 0.72 and 0.95, indicating notable
differentiation. The split of the genus Capra occurred
approximately 6.75 Mya during the late Miocene. The northern lineage
diverged around 5.88 Mya, following the divergence of Clades A–D from
3.3 Mya to 1.9 Mya during the late Pliocene and early Pleistocene. The
radiation between the southern lineage and C. falconeri occurred
at 2.29 Mya during the early Pleistocene. Our results highlight the
importance of extensive sampling when relating to genetic studies of
alpine mammals and call for further genomic studies to draw definitive
conclusions.