Although numerous studies on the impacts of climate change on biodiversity have been published, only a handful are focused on the intraspecific level or consider population‐level models (separate ...models per population). We endeavored to fill this knowledge gap relative to the Qinghai‐Tibetan plateau (QTP) by combining species distribution modeling (SDMs) with population genetics (i.e., population‐level models) and phylogenetic methods (i.e., phylogenetic tree reconstruction and phylogenetic diversity analyses). We applied our models to 11 endemic and widely distributed herpetofauna species inhabiting high elevations in the QTP. We aimed to determine the influence of environmental heterogeneity on species’ responses to climate change, the magnitude of climate‐change impacts on intraspecific diversity, and the relationship between species range loss and intraspecific diversity losses under 2 shared socioeconomic pathways (SSP245 and SSP585) and 3 future periods (2050s, 2070s, and 2090s). The effects of global climatic change were more pronounced at the intraspecific level (22% of haplotypes lost and 36% of populations lost) than the morphospecies level in the SSP585 climate change scenario. Maintenance of genetic diversity was in general determined by a combination of factors including range changes, species genetic structure, and the part of the range predicted to be lost. This is owing to the fact that the loss and survival of populations were observed in species irrespective of the predicted range changes (contraction or expansion). In the southeast (mountainous regions), climate change had less of an effect on range size (>100% in 3 species) than in central and northern QTP plateau regions (range size <100% in all species). This may be attributed to environmental heterogeneity, which provided pockets of suitable climate in the southeast, whereas ecosystems in the north and central regions were homogeneous. Generally, our results imply that mountainous regions with high environmental heterogeneity and high genetic diversity may buffer the adverse impacts of climate change on species distribution and intraspecific diversity. Therefore, genetic structure and characteristics of the ecosystem may be crucial for conservation under climate change.
Impactos del cambio climático sobre la diversidad de herpetofauna en la meseta Qinghai‐Tíbet
Región
Aunque se han publicado numerosos estudios sobre los impactos del cambio climática en la biodiversidad, son muy pocos los que se enfocan en el nivel intraespecífico o que consideran modelos a nivel poblacional (modelos separados por población). Intentamos cerrar este vacío de conocimiento en relación con la meseta Qinghai‐Tíbet (MQT) con la combinación entre modelos de distribución de especies (MDE) y genética poblacional (modelos a nivel poblacional) y métodos filogenéticos (reconstrucción de árboles filogenéticos y análisis de diversidad filogenética). Aplicamos nuestros modelos a once especies endémicas de herpetofauna con distribución amplia en las elevaciones más altas de la MQT. Nos planteamos determinar la influencia de la heterogeneidad de las especies sobre la respuesta de las especies al cambio climático, la magnitud de los impactos del cambio climático sobre la diversidad intraespecífica y la relación entre la pérdida de distribución de la especie y las pérdidas de diversidad intraespecífica bajo dos vías socioeconómicas (SSP245 y SSP585) y tres periodos del futuro (2050s, 2070s y 2090s). Los efectos del cambio climático global fueron más pronunciados a nivel intraespecífico (22% de pérdida en los haplotipos y 36% en las poblaciones) que al nivel morfoespecie en el escenario de cambio climático SSP585. El mantenimiento de la diversidad genética casi siempre estuvo determinado por una combinación de factores que incluyen cambios en la distribución, estructura genética de las especies y la parte de la distribución que se pronosticó se perdería. Esto se debe a que observamos la pérdida y supervivencia de las poblaciones sin importar los cambios pronosticados en la distribución (contracción o expansión). En las regiones montañosas del sureste, el cambio climático tuvo un efecto menor sobre la distribución (>100% en tres especies) comparado con las regiones de la meseta central y del norte de la MQT (distribución <100% en todas las especies). Esto puede atribuirse a la heterogeneidad ambiental, la cual proporciona recovecos de clima adecuado en el sureste, mientras que los ecosistemas en las regiones central y norte fueron homogéneos. De manera general, nuestros resultados implican que las regiones montañosas con una elevada heterogeneidad ambiental y una gran diversidad genética podrían reducir los impactos adversos del cambio climático sobre la distribución de las especies y la diversidad intraespecífica. Por lo tanto, la estructura genética y las características del ecosistema pueden ser cruciales para conservar bajo el cambio climático.
【摘要】
尽管已有大量有关气候变化对生物多样性影响的研究发表, 但只有少数研究考虑种下或种群水平的模型。我们将物种分布模型(SDMs)与种群遗传学和系统发生学方法相结合, 填补青藏高原地区(QTP)在这一方面的研究空白。我们对11种栖息在青藏高原特有且分布广泛的两栖爬行动物进行了模型分析, 探究环境异质性对物种响应气候变化的影响、气候变化对种内多样性的影响程度、以及在SSP245和SSP585两种情景下, 未来(2050年、2070年和2090年)物种分布范围丧失与种内多样性丧失之间的关系。结果显示, 在SSP585气候变化情景中, 在种下有22%的单倍型和36%的种群将会丢失, 全球气候变化对种内多样性的影响比种间更为明显。遗传多样性是否能够维持一般由多种因素共同决定, 包括分布区的变化、物种遗传结构以及预测丢失的分布区。在青藏高原东南部山区, 气候变化对物种分布范围大小的影响(有3个物种的分布范围扩张)小于青藏高原北部和中部地区(所有物种的分布范围均缩小), 主要原因可能是东南部环境异质性更高, 物种可以选择较为合适的生境, 而北部和中部地区环境则趋于同质化。本研究结果表明, 环境异质性高、遗传多样性高的山区可以缓冲气候变化对物种分布和种内多样性的不利影响。因此, 生态系统的遗传结构和特征对于气候变化下的多样性保护至关重要。
Although many cases of genetic adaptations to high elevations have been reported, the processes driving these modifications and the pace of their evolution remain unclear. Many high-elevation ...adaptations (HEAs) are thought to have arisen in situ as populations rose with growing mountains. In contrast, most high-elevation lineages of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau appear to have colonized from low-elevation areas. These lineages provide an opportunity for studying recent HEAs and comparing them with ancestral low-elevation alternatives. Herein, we compare four frogs (three species of Nanorana and a close lowland relative) and four lizards (Phrynocephalus) that inhabit a range of elevations on or along the slopes of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. The sequential cladogenesis of these species across an elevational gradient allows us to examine the gradual accumulation of HEA at increasing elevations. Many adaptations to high elevations appear to arise gradually and evolve continuously with increasing elevational distributions. Numerous related functions, especially DNA repair and energy metabolism pathways, exhibit rapid change and continuous positive selection with increasing elevations. Although the two studied genera are distantly related, they exhibit numerous convergent evolutionary changes, especially at the functional level. This functional convergence appears to be more extensive than convergence at the individual gene level, although we found 32 homologous genes undergoing positive selection for change in both high-elevation groups. We argue that species groups distributed along a broad elevational gradient provide a more powerful system for testing adaptations to high-elevation environments compared with studies that compare only pairs of high-elevation versus low-elevation species.
DNA barcoding is a proven tool for the rapid and unambiguous identification of species, which is essential for many activities including the vouchering tissue samples in the genome 10K initiative, ...genealogical reconstructions, forensics and biodiversity surveys, among many other applications. A large‐scale effort is underway to barcode all amphibian species using the universally sequenced DNA region, a partial fragment of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I COI. This fragment is desirable because it appears to be superior to 16S for barcoding, at least for some groups of salamanders. The barcoding of amphibians is essential in part because many species are now endangered. Unfortunately, existing primers for COI often fail to achieve this goal. Herein, we report two new pairs of primers (➀, ➁) that in combination serve to universally amplify and sequence all three orders of Chinese amphibians as represented by 36 genera. This taxonomic diversity, which includes caecilians, salamanders and frogs, suggests that the new primer pairs will universally amplify COI for the vast majority species of amphibians.
Viviparous (live-bearing) vertebrates have evolved repeatedly within otherwise oviparous (egg-laying) clades. Over two-thirds of these changes in vertebrate reproductive parity mode happened in ...squamate reptiles, where the transition has happened between 98 and 129 times. The transition from oviparity to viviparity requires numerous physiological, morphological, and immunological changes to the female reproductive tract, including eggshell reduction, delayed oviposition, placental development for supply of water and nutrition to the embryo by the mother, enhanced gas exchange, and suppression of maternal immune rejection of the embryo. We performed genomic and transcriptomic analyses of a closely related oviparous–viviparous pair of lizards (Phrynocephalus przewalskii and Phrynocephalus vlangalii) to examine these transitions. Expression patterns of maternal oviduct through reproductive development of the egg and embryo differ markedly between the two species. We found changes in expression patterns of appropriate genes that account for each of the major aspects of the oviparity to viviparity transition. In addition, we compared the gene sequences in transcriptomes of four oviparous–viviparous pairs of lizards in different genera (Phrynocephalus, Eremias, Scincella, and Sphenomorphus) to look for possible gene convergence at the sequence level. We discovered low levels of convergence in both amino acid replacement and evolutionary rate shift. This suggests that most of the changes that produce the oviparity–viviparity transition are changes in gene expression, so occasional reversals to oviparity from viviparitymay not be as difficult to achieve as has been previously suggested.
Speciation remains a fundamental issue in biology. Herein, we report an investigation into speciation in the Rana chensinensis species complex using DNA sequence data from one mitochondrial and five ...nuclear genes. A phylogenetic analysis of the data revealed four major clades in the complex, and each of them was found to likely represent a species, including one cryptic species. Ecological niche models were generated from 19 climatic variables for three of the four major clades, which were represented by widespread sampling, including R. chensinensis, Rana kukunoris and the potential cryptic species. Each clade is associated with a unique ecological unit, and this indicates that ecological divergence probably drove speciation. Ecological divergence is likely related to the late Cenozoic orogenesis of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau. In addition, gene flow between species was detected but only in peripheral portions of the ranges of the four major clades, thus likely had little influence on the speciation processes. Discordances between mitochondrial and nuclear genes were also found; the nominal species, R. chensinensis, contains multiple maternal clades, suggesting potential mitochondrial introgression between R. chensinensis and R. kukunoris.
Background/Aims: Abnormal fatty acid β oxidation has been associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes. Resistin is an adipokine that has been considered as a potential factor in obesity-mediated ...insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. However, the effect of resistin on fatty acid β oxidation needs to be elucidated. Methods: We detected the effects of resistin on the expression of fatty acid oxidation (FAO) transcriptional regulatory genes, the fatty acid transport gene, and mitochondrial β-oxidation genes using real-time PCR. The rate of FAO was measured using 14C-palmitate. Immunofluorescence assay and western blot analysis were used to explore the underlying molecular mechanisms. Results: Resistin leads to a reduction in expression of the FAO transcriptional regulatory genes ERRα and NOR1, the fatty acid transport gene CD36, and the mitochondrial β-oxidation genes CPT1, MCAD, and ACO. Importantly, treatment with resistin led to a reduction in the rate of cellular fatty acid oxidation. In addition, treatment with resistin reduced phosphorylation of acetyl CoA carboxylase (ACC) (inhibitory). Mechanistically, resistin inhibited the activation of CREB, resulting in suppression of PGC-1α. Importantly, overexpressing PGC-1α can rescue the inhibitory effects of resistin on fatty acid β oxidation. Conclusions: Activating the transcriptional activity of CREB using small molecular chemicals is a potential pharmacological strategy for preventing the inhibitory effects of resistin on fatty acid β oxidation.
Despite recent anthropogenic interference, south‐eastern (SE) Nigeria historically hosts a myriad of pristine forest habitats that could sustain diverse amphibian assemblages. Currently, land ...conversion of primary forests through human activities has led to modified habitats, such as agricultural fields and secondary forest. This calls for biodiversity documentation and initiation of conservation plans. However, the dearth of herpetological studies has limited knowledge of the amphibian species richness and distribution patterns in some forest ecosystems of SE Nigeria. Thus, we surveyed two less‐explored intact forests in SE Nigeria—Afi Forest Reserve (AFR) and Ikpan forest ecosystem (IFE)—to document the patterns of amphibian diversity and distribution. Specimens were searched for opportunistically using visual and acoustic survey methods. Literature searches were conducted to document additional species that were not encountered. Using the observational records and arrays of diversity indices, the patterns of species richness and abundance across habitat types were evaluated. The result of our study revealed the presence of 30 and 31 amphibian species from AFR and IFE, respectively. Our field collections included two unidentified species (Sclerophrys sp. and Hyperolius sp.) from AFR and one (Phrynobatrachus sp.) from IFE. Analyses revealed high species diversity and richness in forest and swamps compared with the agricultural field and savannah. Given the increased human activities and the antecedent threats to forest ecosystems of SE Nigeria, we offer recommendations for the initiation of conservation plans for these two surveyed localities.
Résumé
Malgré de récentes interférences anthropiques, le sud‐est (SE) du Nigéria héberge historiquement une myriade d'habitats forestiers vierges qui pourraient entretenir diverses populations d'amphibiens. Actuellement, la conversion des terres des forêts primaires par les activités humaines a eu pour résultat des habitats modifiés, tels que les champs agricoles, la forêt secondaire, etc. Cela nécessite une documentation sur la biodiversité et le lancement de plans de conservation. Cependant, le manque d'études herpétologiques a limité la connaissance de la richesse des espèces d'amphibiens et des modèles de distribution dans certains écosystèmes forestiers du sud‐est du Nigéria. Nous avons donc étudié deux forêts intactes moins explorées dans le sud‐est du Nigéria ‐ la réserve forestière d'Afi (AFR) et l'écosystème forestier d'Ikpan (IFE) – afin de documenter les modèles de diversité et de répartition des amphibiens. Les spécimens ont été recherchés de manière opportuniste à l'aide de méthodes d'étude visuelles et acoustiques. Des recherches documentaires ont été menées pour documenter d'autres espèces qui n'ont pas été rencontrées. Les modèles de richesse et d'abondance des espèces dans tous les types d'habitats ont été évalués à l'aide d’enregistrements d'observation et de tableaux d'indices de diversité. Le résultat de notre étude a révélé respectivement la présence de 30 et 31 espèces d'amphibiens de l’AFR et de l’IFE. Nos échantillonnages effectués sur le terrain comprenaient deux espèces non identifiées (Sclerophrys sp. et Hyperolius sp.) de l’AFR et une (Phrynobatrachus sp.) de l’IFE. Les analyses ont révélé une grande diversité et richesse des espèces dans les forêts et les marécages par rapport au champ agricole et à la savane. Compte tenu de l'augmentation des activités humaines et des menaces antérieures pesant sur les écosystèmes forestiers du sud‐est du Nigeria, nous proposons des recommandations pour le lancement de plans de conservation pour ces deux localités étudiées.
To date, 10 species of the genus
Microhyla
have been recorded in China, of which six were distributed in Yunnan Province.
Microhyla hmongorum
Hoang, Nguyen, Phan, Pham, Ninh, Wang, Jiang, Ziegler, ...and Nguyen, 2022 was also speculated to be distributed in Xishuangbana, Yunnan Province, China. However, there is no evidence of documentation of
M. hmongorum
.
We report the first country record of
Microhyla hmongorum
, based on specimens collected from Yunnan border region. Morphologically, the specimen was consistent with the original descriptions of
M. hmongorum
. Phylogenetically, the sequences of the specimens from China clustered with the sequence of type specimens of
M. hmongorum
from Vietnam, with uncorrected pairwise distances of 0.9% at the 16S gene fragment analysed. Therefore, we report
M. hmongorum
as a new record species in China.
Anthropogenic global climate changes are one of the greatest threats to biodiversity. Distribution modeling can predict the effects of climate changes and potentially their effects on genetic ...diversity. DNA barcoding quickly identifies patterns of genetic diversity. As a case study, we use DNA barcodes and distribution models to predict threats under climate changes in the frog Nanorana parkeri, which is endemic to the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Barcoding identifies major lineages W and E. Lineage W has a single origin in a refugium and Lineage E derives from three refugia. All refugia locate in river valleys and each greatly contributes to the current level of intraspecific genetic diversity. Species distribution models suggest that global climate changes will greatly influence N. parkeri, especially in the level of genetic diversity, because two former refugia will fail to provide suitable habitat. Our pipeline provides a novel application of DNA barcoding and has important implications for the conservation of biodiversity in southern areas of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.
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