Genome data on the extinct $Bison\ schoetensacki$ establish it as a sister species of the extant European bison ($Bison\ bonasus$)
Résumé
Background: The European bison (Bison bonasus), now found in Europe and the Caucasus, has been proposed to
originate either from the extinct steppe/extant American bison lineage or from the extinct Bison schoetensacki lineage.
Bison schoetensacki remains are documented in Eurasian Middle Pleistocene sites, but their presence in Upper
Pleistocene sites has been questioned. Despite extensive genetic studies carried out on the steppe and European bison,
no remains from the fossil record morphologically identified as Bison schoetensacki has been analyzed up to now.
Results: In this paper, we analyzed a 36,000-year-old Bison schoetensaki bone sample from the Siréjol cave (France) and a
cave hyena coprolite (fossilized feces) found in a nearby cave and containing large amounts of Bovinae DNA. We show that
the Bovinae mitochondrial DNA sequences from both samples, including a complete mitochondrial genome sequence,
belong to a clade recently reported in the literature. This clade only includes ancient bison specimens without taxonomic
identification and displays a sister relationship with the extant European bison. The genetic proximity of Bison schoetensacki
with specimens from this clade is corroborated by the analysis of nuclear DNA single nucleotide polymorphisms.
Conclusions: This work provides genetic evidence supporting the continuing presence of Bison schoetensacki up to the
Upper Pleistocene. Bison schoetensacki turns out to be a sister species of Bison bonasus, excluding the steppe bison Bison
priscus as a direct ancestor of the European bison
Origine : Fichiers éditeurs autorisés sur une archive ouverte