Dissertation Research: Population Genetics and the Distribution of mtDNA Diversity in Asian Primate Genera

一个物种种群之间的关系，以及近亲物种之间的关系，通常通过线粒体DNA （mtDNA）的分析来估计。这项研究将测试一个关键假设，过去基于线粒体DNA的系统发育的结论是基于这个假设的。假设整个物种的mtDNA变异量可以忽略不计。这一假设对于重建系统发生和解释进化历史，特别是灵长类动物的进化历史至关重要。与这一假设相反，在雌性爱心猕猴中，同一物种内存在显着的mtDNA变异。与猕猴不同，叶猴表现出雌性的分散行为。此外，每个属中都有类似地理分布的物种。通过对每个属中两个这样的物种的mtDNA分析，我们提出：(1)研究雌性分散对mtDNA多样性分布的影响（地理不变）；(2)评估地理分布对每个属内线粒体遗传结构的影响（雌性分散保持不变）；(3)确定mtDNA群体结构的“猕猴”模型是否可以广泛应用于其他高等灵长类动物。因此，选择猕猴和叶猴物种对的mtDNA分析提供了一个自然控制的情况，在此情况下，研究基于母系遗传mtDNA的雌性分散对种群结构的影响。本研究独特地考察了社会组织与高等灵长类动物mtDNA进化动态之间的关系。所获得的信息对于认识mtDNA分析在推断灵长类系统发育和进化历史方面的局限性至关重要。

The relationships between populations of a species, and between closely related species, have often been estimated through the analysis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). This study will test a key assumption on which conclusions from past mitochondrial DNA based phylogenies have rested. The assumption is that the amount of mtDNA variation across an entire species is negligible. This assumption is critical to the reconstruction of phylogenies and the interpretation of evolutionary histories, especially those of primates. Contrary to this assumption, within the female philopatric macaques, significant mtDNA variation exists within the same species. Unlike macaques, leaf monkeys exhibit female dispersal. Additionally, there are species within each genus that have similar geographic distributions. Through mtDNA analysis of two such species in each genus, we propose to: (1) examine the effects of female dispersal on distributions of mtDNA diversity (geography held constant); (2) assess the effects of geographic distribution on mitochondrial genetic structure within each genus (female dispersal held constant); and (3) determine whether the 'macaque' model of mtDNA population structure can be broadly applied to other higher primates. Hence, a mtDNA analysis of selected macaque and leaf monkey species pairs provides a naturally controlled situation in which to examine the effects of female dispersal on population structure based on maternally inherited mtDNA. This study uniquely examines the relationship between social organization and the dynamics of mtDNA evolution in higher primates. The information obtained will be crucial to recognizing limitations of mtDNA analysis for inferring primate phylogenies and evolutionary histories.