Publication details
Functional divergence and population replacement in British bank voles
| Authors | |
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| Year of publication | 2014 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | We describe the functional consequences of haemoglobin divergence between two British populations of the bank vole (Clethrionomys$glareolus), one that partially replaced the other during endVglacial colonization from mainland, to examine the possibility of adaptive processes in explaining the replacement. We determine the amino acid substitution of serine for cysteine in the beta haemoglobin chain as the mutation underlying the divergence between the two populations. We demonstrate that this mutation increases the tolerance of bank vole blood cells to oxidative stress. Because levels of oxidative stress correlate with a variety of physiological and pathological states, we argue that the mutation may have conveyed a competitive advantage over the first colonists, promoting the replacement. Our study thus provides striking evidence for physiological differences between populations that spread at the expense of one another during colonization of an area from different glacial refugia, and suggests that selection may have had an important role in endVglacial colonization history and, thus, in establishing the current distributions of species. |