RT Journal Article
T1 Genomic analysis reveals complex population structure within the smooth newt, "Lissotriton vulgaris", in Central Europe
A1 Herczeg, Dávid
A1 Palomar García, Gemma
A1 Zieliński, Piotr
A1 van Riemsdijk, Isolde
A1 Babik, Wiesław
A1 Dankovics, Róbert
A1 Halpern, Bálint
A1 Cvijanović, Milena
A1 Vörös, Judit
AB Species with wide-range distributions usually display high genetic variation. This variation can be partly explained by historical lineages that were temporally isolated from each other and are back into secondary reproductive contact, and partly by local adaptations. The smooth newt (Lissotriton vulgaris) is one of the most widely distributed amphibians species across Eurasia and forms a species complex with a partially overlapping distribution and morphology. In the present study, we explored the population genomic structure of smooth newt lineages in the Carpathian Basin (CB) relying on single-nucleotide polymorphisms. Our dataset included new and previously published data to study the secondary contact zone between lineages in the CB and also tested for the barrier effect of rivers to gene flow between these lineages. We confirmed the presence of the South L. v. vulgaris Lineage distributed in Transdanubia and we provided new distribution records of L. v. ampelensis inhabiting the eastern territories of the CB. High genetic diversity of smooth newts was observed, especially in the North Hungarian Mountains and at the interfluves of the main rivers in the South with four distinct lineages of L. v. vulgaris and one lineage of L. v. ampelensis showing a low level of admixture with the spatially closest L. v. vulgaris lineage. Moreover, admixture detected at the interfluve of the main rivers (i.e. Danube and Tisza) suggested a secondary contact zone in the area. Finally, we found that the river Danube has a very weak effect on population divergence, while the river Tisza is a geographical barrier limiting gene flow between smooth newt lineages. As the range boundaries of L. v. vulgaris and L. v. ampelensis in the CB coincide with the river Tisza, our study underpins the influence of rivers in lineage diversification.
PB John Wiley & Sons
SN 2045-7758
YR 2023
FD 2023-08-31
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/121524
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/121524
LA eng
NO Herczeg, D., Palomar, G., Zieliński, P., van Riemsdijk, I., Babik, W., Dankovics, R., Halpern, B., Cvijanović, M., & Vörös, J. (2023). Genomic analysis reveals complex population structure within the smooth newt, Lissotriton vulgaris, in Central Europe. Ecology and Evolution, 13(9). https://doi.org/10.1002/ECE3.10478
NO Project no. KH130360 has been implemented with the support provided by the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund of Hungary, financed under the [KH_18] funding scheme to Judit Vörös. Judit Vörös was also supported by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (KGYNK2023-30). Gemma Palomar was supported by the Polish National Science Centre (2021/41/B/NZ8/00708) and Maria Zambrano fellowship from Universidad de Alcalá and Next Generation EU.
NO National Research, Development and Innovation Office (Hungary)
NO Hungarian Academy of Sciences
NO Polish National Science Centre
NO Universidad de Alcalá de Henares
NO European Commission
DS Docta Complutense
RD 2 abr 2026