Selection on the mitochondrial ATP synthase 6 and the NADH dehydrogenase 2 genes in hares (Lepus capensis L. 1758) from a steep ecological gradient in North Africa

摘要

BackgroundRecent studies of selection on mitochondrial (mt) OXPHOS genes suggest adaptation due mainly to environmental variation. In this context, Tunisian hares that display several external phenotypes with phylogenetically rather homogenous gene pool and shallow population structure provide a good precondition to detect positive selection on mt genes related to environmental/climatic variation, specifically ambient temperature and precipitation.