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Three Barasingha Subspecies Had Very Similar Mitochondrial Genomes

Wild barasingha standing in grassland at Kanha National Park, India
Research · Genetics & genomics

The three recognised barasingha (Rucervus duvaucelii) subspecies had highly similar mitochondrial genomes, with only limited sequence divergence. The researchers generated three new mitogenomes from hard-ground barasingha (R. d. branderi) tissue collected during post-mortem examinations in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India, and compared them with previously published sequences from R. d. duvaucelii and R. d. ranjitsinhi.

Ten complete barasingha mitogenomes were included in the comparison. All three subspecies had the same basic mitochondrial organisation, with 37 genes, and showed very similar gene order and nucleotide composition. All ten barasingha mitogenomes formed one group in the phylogenetic tree, consistent with a close mitochondrial relationship among the three geographically and ecologically distinct subspecies. Because mitochondrial DNA in mammals is inherited through the maternal line, this comparison mainly traces maternal evolutionary history rather than the full nuclear-genome history of the subspecies.

Protein-coding genes showed purifying selection

The researchers also compared evolutionary rates in the 13 protein-coding mitochondrial genes. Most showed a dN/dS ratio below 1, a pattern consistent with purifying selection: changes that alter the encoded proteins tend to be removed by natural selection, helping preserve important gene functions.

The authors interpret the combination of conserved genome structure, limited sequence divergence and strong purifying selection as evidence of relatively recent evolutionary separation among the three subspecies. Their mitochondrial genomes therefore remain highly similar despite the subspecies’ different habitats and geographic separation.

Mitochondrial genomes can support conservation work

The three new hard-ground barasingha sequences add complete mitochondrial reference data for a subspecies whose main population is centred in Kanha. The authors note that hard-ground barasingha have also been moved to Satpura Tiger Reserve and Van Vihar National Park as part of conservation efforts in Madhya Pradesh.

The authors suggest that better knowledge of mitochondrial variation among the subspecies could support population monitoring, reintroduction programmes and forensic identification.

Sources and image credit

  1. Jadav, K. K., Singh, A. P., Aggrawal, S., Lade, D., Vitta, O., Bharade, R., Singh, B., Podhade, D., & Singh, R. (2026). Exploring mitochondrial genome sequence of swamp deer subspecies (Rucervus duvaucelii): Comparative and phylogenetic insights. All Life, 19(1), 2611209. https://doi.org/10.1080/26895293.2025.2611209Primary research article published online 3 January 2026. The study compared ten complete barasingha mitochondrial genomes, including three hard-ground barasingha genomes generated with next-generation sequencing, and found close genetic relationships among the three subspecies.

Image: Vaibhav-vidhate-wiki / Wikimedia Commons — wild barasingha photographed in Kanha National Park, Madhya Pradesh, India; representative study-region image; cropped to 16:9 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

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