Genome‐Wide SNP Variation as a Test for Mitochondrial Phylogeography and Karyotypic Groups in the Common Shrew (Soricidae, Mammalia)

Abstract

Nuclear variation and phylogeography of the chromosomally highly polymorphic common shrew ( Sorex araneus ) represent a subject of considerable interest for understanding microevolutionary processes in wide‐ranging mammals. In the present study, we addressed this issue using SNP data generated via the ddRADseq approach and based on extensive geographic sampling. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis of a recent range expansion from a refugium located in the Balkan‐Danubian region, followed by subsequent colonization of Eastern Europe and, later, Siberia. This scenario had previously been proposed on the basis of mitochondrial DNA data. On the contrary, genetic relatedness of shrews from southern Karelia and central Siberia, as suggested previously from mtDNA variation, is not supported by our SNP dataset. Nuclear data reveal substantial gene flow across the boundaries between chromosomal races and racial groups.

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