Snails do it – but sometimes they don´t need to do it! – Selfing in geographically separated populations of <i>Cylindrus obtusus</i> (Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Helicidae). Kruckenhauser, L., Zopp, L., Sattmann, H., Däubl, B., Cadahía, L., & Haring, E. In Johnsbach, Austria, August, 2014.
abstract   bibtex   
Cylindrus obtusus is a hermaphroditic land snail, endemic in the Austrian Alps, which is restricted to high elevations (1600 to 2500 m asl) and limestone. It has a quite patchy distribution area which may become even further reduced in the future due to global warming. Previous investigations revealed geographic differences in the genital apparatus: All specimens from the more western populations had one stylophore and two equally developed mucus glands more than twice the length of the stylophore. In contrast, in individuals from the eastern margin of the species distribution, one or two mucus glands were found and the size ratio between stylophore and mucus gland(s) was highly variable. To find out whether these anatomical differences reflect a genetic differentiation, which might be an indication for distinct glacial refugia, we investigated a 650 bp fragment of the mitochondrial COI gene (200 individuals) and 9 microsatellite loci (500 individuals from 29 populations) from samples covering the whole distribution range of the species. The COI sequences showed a geographic differentiation between eastern, central and western populations. The microsatellite analysis revealed a high differentiation between the populations implying restriction of gene flow. Remarkable nearly all individuals from the eastern populations, which are variable in their genital morphology, are homozygous in all microsatellite loci (although different alleles were found within populations). The most plausible explanation for this finding is an altered mode of reproduction. For further investigations quantitative measurements of the mucus glands and the stylophore were taken from more than 70 individuals collected from 16 populations. The results confirm the east-west division suggesting possible functional differences. To assess the functionality of the mucus glands, a comparative histological investigation of the mucus glands was performed.
@inproceedings{kruckenhauser_snails_2014,
	address = {Johnsbach, Austria},
	title = {Snails do it – but sometimes they don´t need to do it! – {Selfing} in geographically separated populations of \textit{{Cylindrus} obtusus} ({Gastropoda}: {Pulmonata}: {Helicidae})},
	abstract = {Cylindrus obtusus is a hermaphroditic land snail, endemic in the Austrian Alps, which is restricted to high elevations (1600 to 2500 m asl) and limestone. It has a quite patchy distribution area which may become even further reduced in the future due to global warming. Previous investigations revealed geographic differences in the genital apparatus: All specimens from the more western populations had one stylophore and two equally developed mucus glands more than twice the length of the stylophore. In contrast, in individuals from the eastern margin of the species distribution, one or two mucus glands were found and the size ratio between stylophore and mucus gland(s) was highly variable.
To find out whether these anatomical differences reflect a genetic differentiation, which might be an indication for distinct glacial refugia, we investigated a 650 bp fragment of the mitochondrial COI gene (200 individuals) and 9 microsatellite loci (500 individuals from 29 populations) from samples covering the whole distribution range of the species. The COI sequences showed a geographic differentiation between eastern, central and western populations. The microsatellite analysis revealed a high differentiation between the populations implying restriction of gene flow. Remarkable nearly all individuals from the eastern populations, which are variable in their genital morphology, are homozygous in all microsatellite loci (although different alleles were found within populations). The most plausible explanation for this finding is an altered mode of reproduction.
For further investigations quantitative measurements of the mucus glands and the stylophore were taken from more than 70 individuals collected from 16 populations. The results confirm the east-west division suggesting possible functional differences. To assess the functionality of the mucus glands, a comparative histological investigation of the mucus glands was performed.},
	language = {English},
	author = {Kruckenhauser, Luise and Zopp, Laura and Sattmann, Helmut and Däubl, Barbara and Cadahía, Luis and Haring, Elisabeth},
	month = aug,
	year = {2014},
	keywords = {Cylindrus obtusus},
}

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