The wild boar Sus scrofa is one of the widely spread ungulate species in Europe, yet the origin and genetic structure of the population inhabiting Central and Eastern Europe are not well recognized. We analysed 101 newly obtained sequences of complete mtDNA genomes and 548 D-loop sequences of the species and combined them with previously published data. We identified five phylogenetic clades in Europe with clear phylogeographic pattern. Two of them occurred mainly in western and central part of the continent, while the range of the third clade covered North-Eastern, Central and South-Eastern Europe. The two other clades had rather restricted distribution. In Central Europe, we identified a contact zone of three mtDNA clades. Population genetic structure reflected clear phylogeographic pattern of wild boar in this part of Europe. The contribution of lineages originating from the southern (Dinaric-Balkan) and eastern (northern cost of the Black Sea) areas to the observed phylogeographic pattern of the species in Central and Eastern Europe was larger than those from the regions located in southern France, Iberian, and Italian Peninsulas. The present work was the first mitogenomic analysis conducted in Central and Eastern Europe to study genetic diversity and structure of wild boar population.

Centre for Agrar Genomics and Biotechnology University of Debrecen Debrecen Hungary

Department of Clinical Pathology Ludwik Rydygier Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń Toruń Poland

Department of Forensic Medicine Ludwik Rydygier Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń Toruń Poland

Department of Game Management and Wildlife Biology Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences Czech University of Life Sciences Prague Czech Republic

Facultatea de Silvicultura Universitatea Stefan Cel Mare Suceava Suceava Romania

Kyiv Zoological Park of National Importance Kyiv Ukraine

Mammal Research Institute Polish Academy of Sciences Białowieża Poland

State National Park Belovezhskaya Pushcha Brest Oblast Kamenec Raion Kamenyuki Belarus

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