Multilocus Analysis of Phylogenetic Relationships in the Crocidura suaveolens Sensu Lato Species Complex: A Comparison with Mitochondrial Data

Multilocus analysis was for the first time used to study the phylogeny of the Crocidura suaveolens s. l. species complex. Sequencing data for 16 nuclear genes indicated that several distinct forms exist within the species complex. The structure of the complex did generally not contradict its mitochondrial phylogeny. Siberian shrew showed certain specificity of the nuclear genome, but the degree of its genetic differentiation did not correspond to the species level. Relationships of Crocidura aff. suaveolens from South Gansu and Sichuan with other forms of the species complex were clarified. Shrews from Buryatia and Khentei also belong to this form, but their mtDNA apparently introgressed from C. shantungensis in the past. Hybridization of C. suaveolens s. str. with C. aff. suaveolens and C. güeldenstaedtii occurred recently. Due to multiple introgression events in the history of C. suaveolens s. l., a far larger set of loci is necessary for the analysis of the phylogenetic relationships between its forms.