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Press ReleasesIt’s complicated - new insights into the evolutionary history of bearsFrankfurt am Main, Germany, June 11th, 2014. According to researchers of the LOEWE Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiK-F), Goethe University Frankfurt and the U.S. Wildlife Service, several bear species that today only occur in America or in Asia have hybridized during their evolutionary history. The Beringia land bridge, which connected the habitats of these species in former times, might have enabled their encounter. The large-scale study is based on the comparison and analysis of genetic material from all extant bear species. The results have been published recently in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution. Whether in documentaries or in the zoo - everyone has seen and knows about brown bears, polar bears and giant pandas. However, there are several other bear species in Asia and South America that are less well-known, such as the sloth bear, the Asian black bear or the spectacled bear. There are eight bear species that still exist worldwide. Despite many years of research, the exact relationships between them remain unresolved. Who with whom? Polar bear and brown bear have hybridized
... as well as brown bears and black bears
Beringia land bridge serving as an intercontinental meeting point
Darwin’s species tree is insufficient to map complicated relationships
With new molecular methods more genes might be discovered in the genomes of mammal species that could originate from other species. Apparently separate genetic lineages turn out to have merged – sometimes repeatedly – during the evolutionary history and exchanged genetic material with each other. "The traditional pedigree introduced by Darwin is not always suitable to map evolutionary history in full detail. So-called phylogenetic networks a more useful to depict the genetic mix-up that we have found ", comments evolutionary biologist Prof. Dr. Axel Janke, BiK-F, leader of the research team. The study demonstrates that evolution often is not a linear process; thanks to modern molecular methods its complex processes can finally be revealed. Publication: Press images:
Phylogenetic network showing the relationship of all extant bear species. Copyright: BiK-F [Download in 300 dpi] http://tinyurl.com/oevupnv Terms of use: Images may be used for editorial purposes only. Please state the copyright information as given in the image caption. Use of images for commercial purposes prohibited.. For further information please contact: Prof. Dr. Axel Janke or Verena Kutschera or Sabine Wendler |
