Genetic Differentiation Among Peripheral Populations of Bombina bombina from Thrace and Anatolia: An Allozyme Analysis

Genetic structures of Bombina bombina populations, located as peripheral isolates in Turkish Thrace and northwestern Anatolia, were analyzed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis using 20 allozyme loci, to investigate the populations' current genetic variation and possible colonization history. Significant genetic variability was detected in most of the loci and all populations. Allozyme pairwise F (ST) matrices and distribution of allele frequencies indicate their very close genetic relationships and relatively recent formation. Mean genetic distance values between Thracian and Anatolian populations indicate a Middle or Upper Pleistocene lineage separation before the formation of the Bosporus as an isolating geographic barrier. All the samples show substantial heterozygosity excess, and there was statistically significant evidence of recent bottlenecks. The extent and patterns of genetic divergence indicate that the Anatolian and Thracian populations have probably experienced bottlenecks, and incipient speciation may have occurred in Anatolian populations of B. bombina.