Analysis of mitogenome variability of the brown hare (Lepus europaeus) in Croatia

Dosadašnje filogenetske analize sugeriraju da su europski zečevi (Lepus europaeus) preživjeli pleistocenski glacijal u refugijima u Europi (Apeninski i Balkanski poluotok) te Maloj Aziji. Cilj je ovog istraživanja ustanoviti filogenetske odnose zečeva na području Europe i RH. Analiza se odvila na dva seta mitogenoma, s područja Europe te Hrvatske. Radi se o kvalitetnim uzorcima s prosječnom dubinom i duljinom pokrivenosti 662.91 i 99.99%. Otkrivena su 42 haplotipa u europskom setu (43 sekvence) te 28 u hrvatskom (29 sekvenci). Svaki sadrži po jednu sekvencu (iznimka je H13 koji sadrži dvije), što ukazuje na veliku raznolikost haplotipova. Potvrđeno je postojanje dvije velike grupe haplotipova: grupa A s područja Europe i grupa B iz Anatolije, udaljene 181 polimorfno mjesto. Hrvatski su haplotipovi (uključujući historijske) svrstani u grupu A, a dalje se grupiraju u grupe D (Južno primorje) i I (Sjeverno primorje) te se uočava djelomično grupiranje iz Središnje Hrvatske u grupu S. Iznosi genetskih udaljenosti te velik broj haplotipova ukazuju na veliku varijabilnost vrste.Current phylogenetic analyzes suggest that European hares (Lepus europaeus) survived the Pleistocene glacial in refugia in Europe (Apennine and Balkan peninsulas) and Asia Minor. The goal of this research is to establish the phylogenetic relationships of brown hares in Europe and the Republic of Croatia. The analysis was based on two sets of mitogenomes, from Europe and Croatia. These are quality samples with an average depth and length of coverage of 662.91 and 99.99%. 42 haplotypes were discovered in the European set (43 sequences) and 28 in the Croatian set (29 sequences). Each contains one sequence (the exception is H13 which contains two), indicating a high diversity of haplotypes. The existence of two large groups of haplotypes was confirmed: group A from Europe and group B from Anatolia, separated by 181 polymorphic sites. Croatian haplotypes (including ancient ones) are classified into group A and are further grouped into groups D (Southern coast) and I (Northern coast), and a partial grouping from Central Croatia into group S is observed. The amounts of genetic distances and a large number of haplotypes indicate great variability of the species