UCE phylogenomics resolves complex relationships within the
Crocidura mu-ricauda species complex (Eulipotyphla: Soricidae)

a 2025

UCE phylogenomics resolves complex relationships within the Crocidura mu-ricauda species complex (Eulipotyphla: Soricidae)

CHALUPOVÁ, Veronika; Vendula MIKEŠOVÁ; Josef BRYJA; Violaine NICOLAS; Adam KONEČNÝ et al.

Základní údaje

Originální název

UCE phylogenomics resolves complex relationships within the Crocidura mu-ricauda species complex (Eulipotyphla: Soricidae)

Autoři

CHALUPOVÁ, Veronika; Vendula MIKEŠOVÁ; Josef BRYJA; Violaine NICOLAS a Adam KONEČNÝ

Vydání

European Congress of Mammalogy 2025, 2025

Další údaje

Jazyk

angličtina

Typ výsledku

Konferenční abstrakt

Obor

10613 Zoology

Stát vydavatele

Řecko

Utajení

není předmětem státního či obchodního tajemství

Označené pro přenos do RIV

Organizační jednotka

Přírodovědecká fakulta

Klíčová slova anglicky

Crocidura muricauda; phylogeny; UCE

Příznaky

Mezinárodní význam

Změněno: 10. 2. 2026 15:35, Mgr. Marie Novosadová Šípková, DiS.

Anotace

V originále

The genus Crocidura, the most speciose among mammals, comprises 109 described sub-Saharan species, making it a cornerstone for understanding Afrotropical biodi-versity. However, species-level identification is often hindered by significant morpho-logical similarity, necessitating the use of genetic tools. Despite a growing body of molecular data, phylogenetic relationships within Crocidura remain incompletely re-solved, particularly when relying on traditional mitochondrial markers such as cyto-chrome b (cytB). In this contribution, we present a robust phylogeny based on Ultra-Conserved Elements (UCEs) sequenced across the genomes of 183 crocidurine shrew specimens. This approach yielded highly supported topology, particularly clari-fying relationships within the C. muricauda species complex. This group, containing two valid species (C. muricauda and C. douceti), is distributed across West African forests. Prior analyses of about 400 cytB sequences suggested additional cryptic lineages but failed to resolve interspecific relationships due to limited phylogenetic signal. To address these challenges, we sequenced UCEs from 23 specimens repre-senting the majority of cytB lineages. Our analyses revealed a well-supported phy-logeny, with C. douceti in basal position to all C. muricauda lineages. Furthermore, multiple distinct lineages within C. muricauda exhibited sympatric distributions. These findings suggest substantial cryptic diversification within C. muricauda, underscoring the potential for the recognition of additional species pending integrative taxonomic revision incorporating morphological data. Our study highlights the power of UCE-based approaches in resolving phylogenetic uncertainties and contributes to a deep-er understanding of the evolutionary history, biodiversity, and conservation needs of these understudied African shrews.

Citovat

CHALUPOVÁ, Veronika; Vendula MIKEŠOVÁ; Josef BRYJA; Violaine NICOLAS a Adam KONEČNÝ. UCE phylogenomics resolves complex relationships within the Crocidura mu-ricauda species complex (Eulipotyphla: Soricidae). In European Congress of Mammalogy 2025. 2025.

@proceedings{2498357,
   author = {Chalupová, Veronika and Mikešová, Vendula and Bryja, Josef and Nicolas, Violaine and Konečný, Adam},
   booktitle = {European Congress of Mammalogy 2025},
   keywords = {Crocidura muricauda; phylogeny; UCE},
   language = {eng},
   title = {UCE phylogenomics resolves complex relationships within the Crocidura mu-ricauda species complex (Eulipotyphla: Soricidae)},
   year = {2025}
}

TY  - CONF
ID  - 2498357
AU  - Chalupová, Veronika - Mikešová, Vendula - Bryja, Josef - Nicolas, Violaine - Konečný, Adam
PY  - 2025
TI  - UCE phylogenomics resolves complex relationships within the Crocidura mu-ricauda species complex (Eulipotyphla: Soricidae)
KW  - Crocidura muricauda
KW  - phylogeny
KW  - UCE
N2  - The genus Crocidura, the most speciose among mammals, comprises 109 described sub-Saharan species, making it a cornerstone for understanding Afrotropical biodi-versity. However, species-level identification is often hindered by significant morpho-logical similarity, necessitating the use of genetic tools. Despite a growing body of molecular data, phylogenetic relationships within Crocidura remain incompletely re-solved, particularly when relying on traditional mitochondrial markers such as cyto-chrome b (cytB). In this contribution, we present a robust phylogeny based on Ultra-Conserved Elements (UCEs) sequenced across the genomes of 183 crocidurine shrew specimens. This approach yielded highly supported topology, particularly clari-fying relationships within the C. muricauda species complex. This group, containing two valid species (C. muricauda and C. douceti), is distributed across West African forests. Prior analyses of about 400 cytB sequences suggested additional cryptic lineages but failed to resolve interspecific relationships due to limited phylogenetic signal. To address these challenges, we sequenced UCEs from 23 specimens repre-senting the majority of cytB lineages. Our analyses revealed a well-supported phy-logeny, with C. douceti in basal position to all C. muricauda lineages. Furthermore, multiple distinct lineages within C. muricauda exhibited sympatric distributions. These findings suggest substantial cryptic diversification within C. muricauda, underscoring the potential for the recognition of additional species pending integrative taxonomic revision incorporating morphological data. Our study highlights the power of UCE-based approaches in resolving phylogenetic uncertainties and contributes to a deep-er understanding of the evolutionary history, biodiversity, and conservation needs of these understudied African shrews.
ER  -

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