ArticleScientific reports2026
Multiple introgression events from ghost Rüppell's fox mitochondrial lineages into red fox.
Article in Scientific reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Mitochondrial introgression has been reported between red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and Rüppell’s fox (Vulpes rueppellii). While an evolutionary scenario of old divergence followed by recent mitochondrial introgression has been proposed, the directionality, prevalence, and timing of this event remain unclear. To further investigate this scenario, we analysed mitogenomes (n=85), including four newly generated red fox mitogenomes from Türkiye and a new Rüppell’s fox mitogenome from the United Arab Emirates, and partial mitochondrial DNA sequences (n=320) from both species across their ranges, including a newly comprehensive sampling in the Anatolian Peninsula (n=80). Our results are consistent with unidirectional mitochondrial introgression from the desert-adapted Rüppell’s fox into the generalist red fox, likely driven by climatic shifts promoting secondary contact and asymmetrical reproductive behaviour. Phylogenetic analysis unveiled two deeply divergent mitochondrial lineages of Rüppell’s fox sampled among red fox individuals: one distributed across Türkiye, Iran and Tunisia, and another restricted to Iran, suggesting that likely now-extinct (ghost) mitochondrial lineages may have introgressed into red foxes at least twice. Estimates of the time to the most recent common ancestor indicate that introgressed and contemporary Rüppell’s fox mitochondrial lineages diverged approximately 230 kya, predating the current intraspecific mitochondrial diversification of Rüppell’s fox lineages (~72 kya). This study highlights how comprehensive mitogenomic data and exhaustive regional surveys are critical for elucidating the complexity of introgression patterns in closely related canids.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.