Bale monkeys living in different areas have very different DNA

Date:  July 9, 2018

Source:  BioMed Central

Summary:

Bale monkey's that live in continuous bamboo forests have different mitochondrial DNA to Bale monkeys living in fragmented forests, according to a study published in the open access journal, BMC Evolutionary Biology.

Dr Addisu Mekonnen and colleagues at The University of Oslo, Norway, looked at the genetic diversity of the two populations of Bale monkeys. Analysis of mitochondrial DNA suggested strong genetic differences between the Bale monkeys who lived in continuous forests or fragmented forests. The researchers found that the populations of Bale monkeys were so different from each other that the Bale monkeys from fragmented forests were more similar to vervets and grivets than Bale monkeys from continuous forests.

Dr Addisu Mekonnen, corresponding author of the study, explains: "Remarkably, our phylogenetic analysis showed that Bale monkeys in fragmented forests are more closely related to their sister species, vervets and grivets, than Bale Monkeys from continuous forests. This suggests that hybridization had taken place between Bale monkeys from fragmented forests and vervet and grivet monkeys, but not with bale monkeys in continuous forests. This hybridization could be due to habitat fragmentation and close proximity to similar monkeys."

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