Leaping between branches: Hybridisation and the tangled evolutionary history of true lemurs
Mercuri, Giacomo (University of Parma)
Merici, Giovanni (University of Parma)
Kai-How Farh, Kyle (Illumina Inc.)
Kuderna, Lukas F.K. (Universitat Pompeu Fabra)
Rogers, Jeffrey (Baylor College of Medicine)
Marquès i Bonet, Tomàs 1975- (Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont)
Donati, Giuseppe (Oxford Brookes University)
Percudani, Riccardo (University of Parma)
Capelli, Cristian (University of Parma)

Date:	2026
Abstract:	The true lemurs (genus Eulemur) are a genetically diverse and spatially widespread group of species inhabiting most of Madagascar's forests. Including 12 recognized species, the genus can be divided into four major evolutionary groups: E. rubriventer, E. mongoz, the Brown Lemur Species Complex (BLSC), and the coronatus-macaco-flavifrons complex (CMFC), although monophyly for the CMFC is not always supported. Recent genome-based studies highlighted topological and chronological differences between nuclear and mitochondrial phylogenies of true lemurs, which could be explained by events of hybridisation. In order to reconstruct the evolutionary history of the genus, we test for gene-flow between Eulemur clades using a set of whole genome sequences representative of the diversity of the genus. Events of hybridization among true lemurs clades were identified, explaining discordances between mitochondrial and nuclear phylogenies and providing the context for mito-nuclear co-evolution, which we detected for E. rubriventer. Overall, by directly testing for hybridization among Eulemur species, we developed an evolutionary model that deepens our understanding of the unique and complex history of the genus Eulemur, and sets it as a starting point for future research.
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Eulemur ; Phylogeny ; Hybridisation ; Mito-nuclear co-evolution
Published in:	Molecular phylogenetics and evolution, Vol. 215 (February 2026) , art. 108503, ISSN 1095-9513

DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2025.108503

13 p, 2.7 MB

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Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles