Article
Hidden Diversity in the Sands: Genomic Footprints of Pleistocene Refugia and Fragile Futures of the Turkestan Ground-Jay (Podoces panderi) in Central Asia.
Integrative zoology - 1 Sept 2026
Dekhkonov Shakhzod I, Gulomova Dilorom I, Fundukchiyev Semyon E, Chen Lin, Hao Yan, Wang Shangyu, Song Gang, Kholmatov Bakhtiyor R, Jashenko Roman V, Lei Fumin
Abstract excerpt
The Turkestan ground-jay (Podoces panderi), a corvid endemic to Central Asia's deserts and steppes, exemplifies how extreme environments drive speciation. Our study provides the first comprehensive high-resolution genomic analysis of this species, using complete mitochondrial genomes (49 individuals) to decode its population structure and demographic past. Our analyses revealed three highly divergent genetic...
Read the complete abstract on PubMedTopics
- Animals
- Genetic Variation
- Asia, Central
- Genome, Mitochondrial
- Refugium
- Phylogeny
