Inferring coalescence times from gene trees in two hypothesized subpopulations of vendace (Coregonus albula L.) – a selective, one-site approach

Abstract

Data regarding the AluI restriction site polymorphism from a recent study on mitochondrial DNA phylogeographic relatedness of vendace (Coregonus albula L.) populations were re-examined using the coalescent method. Restriction site loss at the AluI recognition sequence was modeled as a mutation, and ancestral information such as time to the most recent common ancestor (TMRCA) and age of the mutation were inferred from gene trees assuming the infinitely-many-sites model of mutation. Coalescent trees were simulated under two evolutionary models using the GENETREE program. One model assumed a panmictic population and the other a subdivided one. The mean values of the TMRCAs did not differ between the two cases and were 2.4; this suggested that the most recent, common ancestor of the present vendace might have lived about 720,000 years ago.

CORRESPONDING AUTHOR:

Paweł Brzuzan, Uniwersytet Warmińsko-Mazurski, Zakład Genetyki Ewolucyjnej, ul. Oczapowskiego 5, 10-957 Olsztyn; Tel./Fax: +48 89 5234772; e-mail:brzuzan@uwm.edu.pl