Whole mitogenomes of Turkish white-toothed shrews, genus Crocidura (Eulipotyphla: Soricidae), with new insights into the phylogenetic positions of Crocidura leucodon and the Crocidura suaveolens group

• Published in: Organisms diversity & evolution 2023-03, Vol.23 (1), p.221-241
• Main Authors: İbiş, Osman, Koepfli, Klaus-Peter, Özcan, Servet, Tez, Coşkun
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal Systematics/Taxonomy/Biogeography; Biodiversity; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Crocidura; Crocidura suaveolens; Crocidurinae; CytB gene; Developmental Biology; Evolutionary Biology; Life Sciences; Mitochondria; Nucleotide sequence; Original Article; Phylogenetics; Phylogeny; Plant Systematics/Taxonomy/Biogeography; Refuges; Refugia; Soricidae; Taxa
• ISSN: 1439-6092; 1618-1077
• DOI: 10.1007/s13127-022-00579-3

Crocidura , white-toothed shrews, is the most species rich genus among mammals. Phylogeny at the species-level is still unresolved, especially for Turkey and its adjacent regions. To understand phylogenetic relationships and mitogenomic features of Turkey’s Crocidura , we aimed to (i) sequence whole mitogenomes of Turkish shrews, (ii) determine phylogenetic relationships among/within the Crocidura suaveolens group and C. leucodon from Turkey by using mitogenomes minus D-loop; (iii) contribute to resolving the phylogenetic position of populations within the C. suaveolens group in a phylogeographical context by using mitochondrial CYTB gene alone, and (iv) discuss the role of possible glacial refugia that may have driven the diversification of some taxa within Crocidura . Based on two data sets, all analyses revealed that the Turkish shrews were divided into three major lineages: C. mimula , C. gueldenstaedtii , and C. leucodon. This was in agreement with results of previous studies, suggesting (i) that the taxa within the C. suaveolens group such as C. caspica, C. cypria , C. gueldenstaedtii , C. iculisma , C. mimula , and C. shantungensis were separate species. However, the existence of C. sibirica could not be confirmed. We also proposed (i) Carpathian and Caucasian refugia for C. mimula and C. gueldenstaedtii , respectively, and (ii) the existence of a new refugium for C. leucodon that covers Uludağ-Bursa and its adjacent surroundings in the southern Marmara region. Moreover, the Turkish samples of C. leucodon were clustered into two sublineages, and mimula shrews from Lesvos-Greece and Western Anatolia-Turkey might represent an undetermined or undescribed taxon.