Karyological and genetic variation in Middle Eastern lacertid lizards, Lacerta laevis and the Lacerta kulzeri complex: a case of chromosomal allopatric speciation

Abstract Karyological (standard and C, Ag-NOR and Alu-I banding methods) and mtDNA analyses (cytochrome b and 12S rRNA) were conducted on specimens from eight allopatric populations of the Lacerta kulzeri complex. Parallel analyses were performed for comparison on Lacerta laevis specimens. Karyological and molecular studies support the morphological and ethological evidence indicating the speci¢c separation between Lacerta laevis and Lacerta kulzeri. In the Lacerta kulzeri complex, chromosomal analysis substantiated an interpopulation di¡erentiation roughly along a north^south trend, mainly regarding the sex chromosome morphology and heterochromatin. The cytochrome b and 12S rRNA gene analyses showed minor genetic di¡erences that were considerably smaller than those commonly found in genetically isolated populations. The L. kulzeri populations from Barouk, Druze and Hermon show a mean genetic distance that, in other saurians, characterises subspecies. The conditions found in L. laevis and L. kulzeri are reminiscent of King's model of chromosomal primary allopatry and support the hypothesis that in these lacertid lizards chromosome variations can become ¢xed before the accumulation of the genetic mutations

Karyological and genetic variation in Middle Eastern lacertid lizards, Lacerta laevis and the Lacerta kulzeri complex: a case of chromosomal allopatric speciation

Abstract Karyological (standard and C, Ag-NOR and Alu-I banding methods) and mtDNA analyses (cytochrome b and 12S rRNA) were conducted on specimens from eight allopatric populations of the Lacerta kulzeri complex. Parallel analyses were performed for comparison on Lacerta laevis specimens. Karyological and molecular studies support the morphological and ethological evidence indicating the speci¢c separation between Lacerta laevis and Lacerta kulzeri. In the Lacerta kulzeri complex, chromosomal analysis substantiated an interpopulation di¡erentiation roughly along a north^south trend, mainly regarding the sex chromosome morphology and heterochromatin. The cytochrome b and 12S rRNA gene analyses showed minor genetic di¡erences that were considerably smaller than those commonly found in genetically isolated populations. The L. kulzeri populations from Barouk, Druze and Hermon show a mean genetic distance that, in other saurians, characterises subspecies. The conditions found in L. laevis and L. kulzeri are reminiscent of King's model of chromosomal primary allopatry and support the hypothesis that in these lacertid lizards chromosome variations can become ¢xed before the accumulation of the genetic mutations

Erratum to: Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (3rd edition) (Autophagy, 12, 1, 1-222, 10.1080/15548627.2015.1100356

non present