Combined analysis of fourteen nuclear genes refines the Ursidae phylogeny
- 作者：Marie Pagè ; s ; Sé ; bastien Calvignac ; Catherine Klein ; Mathilde Paris ; S ; rine Hughes ; Catherine Hä ; nni
- 关键词：Molecular phylogeny ; Nuclear DNA ; Hibernation ; Ursidae
- 刊名：Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution
- 出版年：2008
- 期刊代码：176_10557903
- 类别：bio
- 出版时间：April 2008
- 卷：47
- 期：1
- 页码：73-83
- 文件大小：308 K
摘要
Despite numerous studies, questions remain about the evolutionary history of Ursidae and additional independent genetic markers were needed to elucidate these ambiguities. For this purpose, we sequenced ten nuclear genes for all the eight extant bear species. By combining these new sequences with those of four other recently published nuclear markers, we provide new insights into the phylogenetic relationships of the Ursidae family members. The hypothesis that the giant panda was the first species to diverge among ursids is definitively confirmed and the precise branching order within the Ursus genus is clarified for the first time. Moreover, our analyses indicate that the American and the Asiatic black bears do not cluster as sister taxa, as had been previously hypothesised. Sun and sloth bears clearly appear as the most basal ursine species but uncertainties about their exact relationships remain. Since our larger dataset did not enable us to clarify this last question, identifying rare genomic changes in bear genomes could be a promising solution for further studies.