Abstract
An important objective of evolutionary biology has always been to grasp
the evolutionary and genetic processes that contribute to speciation.
The present work provides the first detailed account of the genetic and
physiological adaptation to changing environmental temperatures as well
as the reasons causing intraspecific divergence in the Eothenomys
miletus from the Hengduan mountain (HM) region, one of the biodiversity
hotspots. 161 E. miletus individuals from five populations in the
HM region had their genomes simplified sequenced, and one additional
individual from each community had their genomes resequenced. We then
characterized the genetic diversity and population structure of each
population and compared the phenotypic divergence in traits using
neutral molecular markers. We detected significant phenotypic and
genetic alterations in E. miletus from the HM region that were
related to naturally occurring diverse habitats by combining
morphometrics and genomic techniques. The E. miletus existed
asymmetric gene flow patterns, indicating that five E. miletus
populations exhibit a isolation-by-island model, and this was supported
by the correlation between FST and geographic distance. Finally, PST
estimated by phenotypic measures of most wild traits were higher than
differentiation at neutral molecular markers, indicating directional
natural selection favouring different phenotypes in different
populations must have been involved to achieve this much
differentiation. Our findings give information on the demographic
history of E. miletus, new insights into their evolution and
adaptability, and literature for studies of a similar nature on other
wild small mammals from the HM region.