Unveiling hidden diversity: Phylogenomics of neotomine rodents and taxonomic implications for the genus Peromyscus.

Abstract

Neotomine rodents (Cricetidae, Neotominae) represent one of the most commonly encountered and diverse group of rodents in North America, yet phylogenetic relationships within this group remain uncertain. This subfamily is known for its rapid evolution, adding more complexity to our efforts to unravel their evolutionary history. The main debate revolves around the recognition of the genus Peromyscus as monophyletic or paraphyletic due to its relationship with other genera such as Habromys, Megadontomys, Podomys, Neotomodon, and Osgoodomys. Here, we aim to resolve phylogenetic relationships within Neotominae, to further explore their evolutionary history and taxonomic boundaries. We used target capture and high-throughput sequencing of complete mitogenomes and thousands of genome-wide ultraconserved elements loci (UCEs). Our comprehensive analyses encompassed 53 species of Neotominae spanning 12 previously described genera, along with one yet-undescribed genus. We also investigated 12 out of the 13 species groups within Peromyscus. Our analyses including Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian Inference with both mitogemomes and UCEs, as well as the coalescent species-tree-based approach with UCEs, consistently recovered concordant and well-resolved phylogenies with high levels of nodal support. We identified seven main clades within Neotominae that could potentially be recognized at the generic level, mostly to categorize the genus Peromyscus as a monophyletic group, including one species group within "Peromyscus". Furthermore, our divergence dating estimates place the crown age of Neotominae to be around the late Miocene at ca. 7.9 - 10.7 mya. While generic level diversification continued through the Pliocene, species level diversification predominantly occurred during the late Pliocene, extending through the Pleistocene and Holocene. These epochs have been recognized as periods with significant changes in flora and fauna, driving ecological transformations on a global scale. We hypothesized that climatic and vegetation shifts during the Neogene and Quaternary, coupled with geological events, topographical features, and the presence of biogeographical corridors played a pivotal role in the speciation and diversification of Neotominae. Recognizing the importance of generating genomic-scale data coupled with a broad taxonomic sampling, our study, for the first time, offers resolution of the relationships among the main lineages of Neotominae. We expect that the phylogeny presented here will serve as a foundational resource for future systematic and evolutionary studies. This includes facilitating a proper comprehensive taxonomic revision of the group and the formal description and naming of new genera.