The mitogenome of Elaphe bimaculata (Reptilia: Colubridae) has never been published: a case with the complete mitochondrial genome of E. dione

The steppes ratsnake, Elaphe dione (Pallas, 1773), is widely distributed across Eurasia, but the systematics and phylogeography of this species remain poorly studied. Sequencing of the full mitochondrial genome of this species provides a reference for its further study. Here, we report the full mitochondrial genome of an E. dione specimen from Krasnoyarsk Krai (East Siberia, Russia). We found that it is highly similar to the previously reported mitochondrial genome of the sister species, E. bimaculata. Both species misidentification by the authors of E. bimaculata mitogenome and the introgressive hybridization between these taxa can possibly explain this observation

The mitogenome of Elaphe bimaculata (Reptilia: Colubridae) has never been published: a case with the complete mitochondrial genome of E. dione

The steppes ratsnake, Elaphe dione (Pallas, 1773), is widely distributed across Eurasia, but the systematics and phylogeography of this species remain poorly studied. Sequencing of the full mitochondrial genome of this species provides a reference for its further study. Here, we report the full mitochondrial genome of an E. dione specimen from Krasnoyarsk Krai (East Siberia, Russia). We found that it is highly similar to the previously reported mitochondrial genome of the sister species, E. bimaculata. Both species misidentification by the authors of E. bimaculata mitogenome and the introgressive hybridization between these taxa can possibly explain this observation

Mitochondrial DNA in Siberian conifers indicates multiple post-glacial colonization centers

The geographic variation of the mitochondrial DNA was studied in Siberian fir using the newly developed markers and compared with the phylogeographic pattern of another previously studied Siberian coniferous - Siberian larch. Similar to Siberian larch the distribution of mtDNA haplotypes in Siberian fir revealed clear differentiation among distinct geographic regions of southern Siberia and the Urals, likely indicating post-glacial re-colonization from several sources. The northern part of the range of both species was genetically homogeneous, which is probably due to its recent colonization from one of the glacial refugia. This conclusion is in agreement with published pollen and macrofossil data in Siberian fir and with the reconstruction of environmental niches indicating a dramatic reduction of the range and a likely survival of fir in certain southern areas during the last glacial maximum (LGM) – 21 thousand years ago (kya). Although the modeling of Siberian larch ecological niche reconstructed a shift of the range to the south at that period, the paleontological data indicated the presence of this species in most areas of the current range during LGM, that corresponds to the results of previous historical demography study suggesting the population expansion preceding the LGM

Population genetic variation of microsatellite markers developed for Siberian fir ( Abies sibirica Ledeb.) and European silver fir ( Abies alba Mill.) using whole genome sequencing data

The article presents the results of the search for microsatellite or simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci with tri-, tetra-, penta- and hexanucleotide tandem repeat motifs in the draft de novo assembly of the Siberian fir ( Abies sibirica Ledeb.) genome and the development of convenient relatively highly and moderately polymorphic markers that can be easily genotyped even by simple gel electrophoresis. In total, 64 pairs of oligonucleotide polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers for 32 detected microsatellite loci were designed and tested. Based on the testing results, 10 most promising polymorphic loci were selected and genotyped in eight natural populations of Siberian fir. Homologous microsatellite loci in the genome of European silver fir ( Abies alba Mill.) were also identified by mapping Siberian fir contigs, containing SSR loci to the European silver fir genome assembly. A multiplex panel of 14 universal microsatellite loci was developed and genotyped in samples from four natural populations of A. alba and a small sample of eight Nordmann fir ( Abies nordmanniana (Steven) Spach) trees

Семикластерная структура генома хлоропласта лиственницы

The paper presents a novel approach to study a nucleotide sequence structure with respect to the chloroplast genome DNA sequence analysis. A specific frequencies distribution pattern of the consecutive triple nucleotide fragments was identified in the chloroplast genome DNA sequence, which demonstrated a non-degenerated pattern with seven clustersПроанализированы структуры, выделяемые в нуклеотидных последовательностях с помощью анализа распределений фрагментов генома. Показано, что последовательность генома хлоропласта обладает невырожденной семикластерной структурой в распределении таких фрагментов по частотам триплето

Study of the Genetic Adaptation Mechanisms of Siberian Larch (Larix sibirica Ledeb.) Regarding Climatic Stresses Based on Dendrogenomic Analysis

Dendrogenomics is a new interdisciplinary approach that allows joint analysis of dendrological and genomic data and opens up new ways to study the temporal dynamics of forest treelines, delineate spatial and temporal population structures, decipher individual tree responses to abiotic and biotic stresses, and evaluate the adaptive genetic potential of forest tree populations. These data are needed for the prediction of climate change effects and mitigation of the negative effects. We present here an association analysis of the variation of 27 individual tree traits, including adaptive dendrophenotypes reflecting the individual responses of trees to drought stress, such as the resistance (Rt), recovery (Rc), resilience (Rs), and relative resilience (RRs) indexes measured in 136 Siberian larch trees in 5 populations in the foothills of the Batenevsky Ridge (Kuznetsk Alatau, Republic of Khakassia, Russia), with variation of 9742 SNPs genotyped using ddRADseq in the same trees. The population structure of five closely located Siberian larch populations was relatively weak (FST = 0.018). We found that the level of individual heterozygosity positively correlated with the Rc and RR indices for the five studied drought periods and partly with the Rs indices for three drought periods. It seems that higher individual heterozygosity improves the adaptive capabilities of the tree. We also discovered a significant negative relationship between individual heterozygosity and the Rt index in four out of five periods, which means that growth slows down during droughts more in trees with higher individual heterozygosity and is likely associated with energy and internal resource reallocation toward more efficient water and energy usage and optimization of larch growth during drought years. We found 371 SNPs with potentially adaptive variations significantly associated with the variation of adaptive dendrophenotypes based on all three different methods of association analysis. Among them, 26 SNPs were located in genomic regions carrying functional genes: 21 in intergenic regions and 5 in gene-coding regions. Based on the obtained results, it can be assumed that these populations of Siberian larch have relatively high standing adaptive genetic variation and adaptive potential underlying the adaptations of larch to various climatic conditions

Colonization history of Scots pine in Eastern Europe and North Asia based on mitochondrial DNA variation

During Quaternary glaciations, the ranges of Northern Eurasia forest species periodically experienced contraction followed by subsequent re-colonizations in the interglacial intervals. However, unlike the broadleaf trees of temperate forests, taiga species seem not to have retreated fully to southern regions in unfavorable periods and possibly survived at mid-latitudes in multiple refugia. Here, we report a study of genetic variation of three mitochondrial DNA markers in 90 populations of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) located from Eastern Europe to Eastern Siberia. The geographic distribution of seven mitotypes demonstrated the split between western and eastern populations approximately along the 38th meridian. Genetic diversity in the western part was significantly higher than in the eastern one. Five mitotypes were western- and one eastern-specific. One mitotype was common in both regions, but in the eastern part it occurred only in the South Urals and adjacent areas. The geographic structure in the mitotype distribution supports a hypothesis of post-glacial re-colonization of the studied territory from the European and Ural refugia

Семикластерная структура генома хлоропласта лиственницы

The paper presents a novel approach to study a nucleotide sequence structure with respect to the chloroplast genome DNA sequence analysis. A specific frequencies distribution pattern of the consecutive triple nucleotide fragments was identified in the chloroplast genome DNA sequence, which demonstrated a non-degenerated pattern with seven clustersПроанализированы структуры, выделяемые в нуклеотидных последовательностях с помощью анализа распределений фрагментов генома. Показано, что последовательность генома хлоропласта обладает невырожденной семикластерной структурой в распределении таких фрагментов по частотам триплето