The mitochondrial ancestor of bonobos and the origin of their major haplogroups

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 12; no. 5; p. e0174851
• Main Authors: Takemoto, Hiroyuki, Kawamoto, Yoshi, Higuchi, Shoko, Makinose, Emiko, Hart, John A., Hart, Térese B., Sakamaki, Tetsuya, Tokuyama, Nahoko, Reinartz, Gay E., Guislain, Patrick, Dupain, Jef, Cobden, Amy K., Mulavwa, Mbangi N., Yangozene, Kumugo, Darroze, Serge, Devos, Céline, Furuichi, Takeshi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 03.05.2017; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Animal behavior; Animals; Biodiversity; Biology and Life Sciences; Climate change; Deoxyribonucleic acid; Dispersal; Dispersion; Divergence; DNA; DNA, Mitochondrial - genetics; Earth Sciences; Ecology; Ecology and Environmental Sciences; Evolution, Molecular; Forest refugia; Forests; Genetic populations; Genetic structure; Genomes; Geochemistry; Geology; Geophysics; Haplotypes; Mitochondrial DNA; Monkeys & apes; Pan paniscus; Pan paniscus - genetics; Phylogeny; Population genetics; Populations; Rainforests; Refugia; Riparian environments; Riparian forests; Rivers; Sediments; Zoology; Congo Basin; United States > US; Japan; Wisconsin; Africa
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0174851

We report here where the most recent common ancestor (MRCA) of bonobos (Pan paniscus) ranged and how they dispersed throughout their current habitat. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) molecular dating to analyze the time to MRCA (TMRCA) and the major mtDNA haplogroups of wild bonobos were performed using new estimations of divergence time of bonobos from other Pan species to investigate the dispersal routes of bonobos over the forest area of the Congo River's left bank. The TMRCA of bonobos was estimated to be 0.64 or 0.95 million years ago (Ma). Six major haplogroups had very old origins of 0.38 Ma or older. The reconstruction of the ancestral area revealed the mitochondrial ancestor of the bonobo populations ranged in the eastern area of the current bonobos' habitat. The haplogroups may have been formed from either the riparian forests along the Congo River or the center of the southern Congo Basin. Fragmentation of the forest refugia during the cooler periods may have greatly affected the formation of the genetic structure of bonobo populations.