Speciation on the Roof of the World: Parallel Fast Evolution of Cryptic Mole Vole Species in the Pamir-Alay-Tien Shan Region.

Speciation is not always accompanied by morphological changes; numerous cryptic closely related species were revealed using genetic methods. In natural populations of (2 = 54-30) and (2 = 52-48) of the Pamir-Alay and Tien Shan, the chromosomal variability due to Robertsonian translocations has been revealed. Here, by comprehensive genetic analysis (karyological analyses as well as sequencing of mitochondrial genes, and , and nuclear genes, and ) of and samples from the Inner Tien Shan, the Alay Valley, and the Pamir-Alay, we demonstrated fast and independent diversification of these species.

Surrounded by Kindred: Hybridization with Other Species in Space and Time.

Among the numerous described cases of hybridization in mammals, the most intriguing are (a) cases of introgressive hybridization deeply affecting the evolutionary history of species, and (b) models involving not a pair of species but a multi-species complex. Therefore, the hybridization history of the russet ground squirrel , whose range has repeatedly changed due to climatic fluctuations and now borders the ranges of four related species, is of great interest. The main aims of this study were to determine the direction and intensity of gene introgression, the spatial depth of the infiltration of extraneous genes into the range, and to refine the hypothesis of the hybridogenic replacement of mitochondrial genomes in the studied group.

Nonhomologous Chromosome Interactions in Prophase I: Dynamics of Bizarre Meiotic Contacts in the Alay Mole Vole (Mammalia, Rodentia).

Nonhomologous chromosome interactions take place in both somatic and meiotic cells. Prior to this study, we had discovered special contacts through the SYCP3 (synaptonemal complex protein 3) filament between the short arms of nonhomologous acrocentrics at the pachytene stage in the Alay mole vole, and these contacts demonstrate several patterns from proximity to the complete fusion stage. Here, we investigated the nonhomologous chromosome contacts in meiotic prophase I.

Geographic Mosaic of Extensive Genetic Variations in Subterranean Mole Voles as a Consequence of Habitat Fragmentation and Hybridization.

Restricted mobility, sociality, and high inbreeding-characteristic for subterranean mammals-lead to rapid changes in their genome structure. Up to now, the Alay mole vole was a data-deficient species; its spatial and phylogenetic relationships with a sibling species, , were not clarified. We carried out a genetic analysis including differential G-banding of chromosomes and mitochondrial () and nuclear gene ( and ) sequencing.

Analysis of meiotic chromosome structure and behavior in Robertsonian heterozygotes of Ellobius tancrei (Rodentia, Cricetidae): a case of monobrachial homology.

Synaptonemal complex (SC) chains were revealed in semisterile intraspecific F1 hybrids of Ellobius tancrei Blasius, 1884 (2n = 49, NF=56 and 2n=50, NF=56), heterozygous for Robertsonian (Rb) translocations. Chains were formed by Rb submetacentrics with monobrachial homology. Chromosome synapsis in spermatocytes of these hybrids was disturbed, apparently because of the problematic release of the chromosomes from the SC chains.