Patterns of hemoglobin polymorphism [α-globin (HBA) and β-globin (HBB)] across the contact zone of two distinct phylogeographic lineages of the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)
التفاصيل البيبلوغرافية
العنوان:
Patterns of hemoglobin polymorphism [α-globin (HBA) and β-globin (HBB)] across the contact zone of two distinct phylogeographic lineages of the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)
Two loci, HBA and HBB, were studied for protein polymorphism across the contact zone of the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). Six alleles were identified in HBA and two in HBB. Three alleles at the HBA locus were found to be restricted to some populations, while the other three revealed more broad geographic structure. An apparent substitution of the three major alleles in HBA along an Iberian southwest-northeast axis is proposed to be related to the two formerly described population units, including a hybrid allele within their contact zone. The two alleles of HBB are present in almost all populations at similar frequencies, obscuring the relationship between the two evolutionary units. The starkly contrasting pattern of allelic distribution among populations at these two loci – within a well-established bi-lineage phylo-geographic framework – strongly suggests that non-neutral evolutionary processes are involved at a large scale.
