Inferring Coalescence times from Gene Trees in Two Hypothesized Subpopulations of Vendace (coregonus Albula L.) – a Selective, One-site Approach

Data regarding the AluI restriction site polymorphism from a recent study on mitochondrial DNA phylogeographic relatedness of vendace (Coregonus albula L.) populations were re-examined using the coalescent method. Restriction site loss at the AluI recognition sequence was modeled as a mutation, and ancestral information such as time to the most recent common ancestor (TMRCA) and age of the mutation were inferred from gene trees assuming the infinitely-many-sites model of mutation. Coalescent trees were simulated under two evolutionary models using the GENETREE program. One model assumed a panmictic population and the other a subdivided one. The mean values of the TMRCAs did not differ between the two cases and were 2.4; this suggested that the most recent, common ancestor of the present vendace might have lived about 720,000 years ago.