The presence of Balkan and Iberian red deer (Cervus elaphus) mitochondrial DNA lineages in the Carpathian Basin

Abstract Changes in the distributional range of European red deer ( Cervus elaphus ) during the Quaternary and the recolonization of Europe from different refugia, created a clear phylogeographical pattern. In Central Europe, two distinct – Iberian and Balkan – lineages of European red deer are present; however, this suture zone has not yet been studied in detail. The sequences of the complete mitochondrial control region were used to investigate the genetic structure of the red deer in the Carpathian Basin, a region where both lineages are expected to be present. We sequenced the complete control region of 96 red deer samples, discovered 39 haplotypes, and found high levels of haplotype diversity (H = 0.806 for the southwestern and H = 0.954 for the northeastern population). We discovered a high number of haplotypes belonging to both lineages, as well as unique haplotypes, which do not fit into described haplotypes. This is in accordance with previous assumptions that the Carpathian Basin is a suture zone between the Iberian and the Balkan red deer haplogroups.