Sleptzova L.P.1,2, Andreeva L.V.1,3, Zuykova E.I.1,4* 2025. High genetic differentiation of Daphnia pulex s.lat. (Cladocera: Anomopoda) in northern Eurasia: evidence from an analysis of the mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene // Arthropoda Selecta. Vol.34. No.4: 480–494 [in English].
1 Institute of Systematics and Ecology of Animals, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Frunze Str. 11, Novosibirsk 630091 Russia.
2 Novosibirsk State Agrarian University, Dobrolyubova Str. 160, Novosibirsk 630039 Russia.
3 Institute for Biological Problems of Cryolithozone, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Lenina ave. 41, Yakutsk 677007 Russia.
4 Saint Petersburg branch of the Federal State Budget Scientific Institution Russian Federal Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography, Naberezhnaya Makarova 26, Saint Petersburg 199053 Russia.
* Corresponding author
Lana Sleptzova: lana.slepczova98@mail.ru; https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4736-6483
Lena Andreeva: au_196@mail.ru; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7657-6706
Elena Zuykova: zuykova1064@yandex.ru; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2016-8279
doi:10.15298/arthsel.34.4.03
ABSTRACT. This work presents new data on population genetics structure of two species from Daphnia pulex sensu lato species group [D. pulex Leydig, 1860, and D. middendorffiana Fischer, 1851 (Anomopoda: Daphniidae)] from water bodies of Northern Eurasia. A fragment of the noncoding mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene was used to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships between the species, to identify genealogical links between haplotypes, and to evaluate genetic polymorphism of these species and their populations. A preliminary assessment of evolutionary history of these species is provided. We revealed an extremely high genetic diversity within the D. pulex s.lat. group in Northern Eurasia, primarily indicating a hidden species diversity. The magnitude of genetic polymorphism pointed to a mixture of different mitochondrial lineages and possibly species; this finding was most pronounced in the populations from Arctic regions. High genetic diversity of these closely related species in Northern Eurasia reflects paleogeographic events of the Late Pleistocene. Overall, there is an obvious need for a large-scale morphological revision combined with genetic analysis within this group to obtain a clear picture of their species diversity in this vast region in particular and in the Holarctic as a whole.
KEY WORDS: 12S rRNA, Daphnia pulex sensu lato, phylogeny, genetic differentiation, polymorphism, evolutionary history, Northern Eurasia.
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