Cited by 309Genetic diversity and population structureEvolution and Paleontology StudiesGenomics and Phylogenetic Studies

Nuclear genomic sequences reveal that polar bears are an old and distinct bear lineage

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Hailer, Frank, Kutschera, Verena E., Hallström, Björn M., Klassert, Denise, Fain, Steven R., Leonard, Jennifer A., Arnason, Ulfur, Janke, Axel·2012·Science

Abstract

Recent studies have shown that the polar bear matriline (mitochondrial DNA) evolved from a brown bear lineage since the late Pleistocene, potentially indicating rapid speciation and adaption to arctic conditions. Here, we present a high-resolution data set from multiple independent loci across the nuclear genomes of a broad sample of polar, brown, and black bears. Bayesian coalescent analyses place polar bears outside the brown bear clade and date the divergence much earlier, in the middle Pleistocene, about 600 (338 to 934) thousand years ago. This provides more time for polar bear evolution and confirms previous suggestions that polar bears carry introgressed brown bear mitochondrial DNA due to past hybridization. Our results highlight that multilocus genomic analyses are crucial for an accurate understanding of evolutionary history.

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Crossref · 10.1126/science.1216424

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Authors
Hailer, F., Kutschera, V. E., Hallström, B. M., Klassert, D., Fain, S. R., Leonard, J. A., Arnason, U., & Janke, A.
Affiliations
  • Senckenberg - Leibniz Institution for Biodiversity and Earth System Research (DE)
  • National Fish and Wildlife Forensic Laboratory, 1490 East Main Street, Ashland, OR, USA.
  • Estación Biológica de Doñana (ES)
  • Lund University Hospital, Box 117, 221 00 Lund, Sweden.
  • Goethe University Frankfurt (DE)
Corresponding author
  • Hailer, Frank
  • Janke, Axel
Venue
Science
Published
2012-04-20
Volume
336
Issue
6079
Pages
344-347
ISSN
  • 0036-8075 (ISSN-L)
  • 1095-9203
OpenAlex
W2057692000
Cited by
308
References
58
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 41 · 2021: 22 · 2020: 44 · 2019: 18 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 26 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 25 · 2014: 29 · 2013: 28 · 2012: 12
FWCI
17.98
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
other-oa
Locations
  • Science (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DIGITAL.CSIC (Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • ORCA Online Research @Cardiff (Cardiff University) (submittedVersion)
  • Lund University Publications (Lund University) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic diversity and population structure
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Evolution and Paleontology Studies
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies
Keywords
polar bear, brown bear, Ursus americanus, nuclear genome, divergence time estimation, speciation, Pleistocene, hybridization, introgression, mitochondrial DNA, Ursus, molecular phylogeny
MeSH terms
Animals, Bayes Theorem, Ursidae, Cell Nucleus, DNA, Mitochondrial, Biological Evolution, Haplotypes, Hybridization, Genetic, Molecular Sequence Data, Phylogeny, Genetic Variation, Genome, Genetic Speciation, Gene Flow, Multilocus Sequence Typing

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