What potential issue arises when attempting to resolve recent Zokor splits using only mitochondrial DNA markers?

Answer

Results can be misleading due to historical hybridization events or population bottlenecks skewing the maternal lineage frequency.

When investigating evolutionary divergences that have occurred recently, relying exclusively on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to define species boundaries in the *Myospalacinae* subfamily carries specific risks. Because mtDNA is inherited maternally, its pattern of inheritance does not always perfectly track the overall species history. Phenomena like introgressive hybridization, where past interbreeding occurs, or severe population bottlenecks can drastically alter the frequency of specific maternal lineages, potentially creating misleading patterns that suggest a deeper or more absolute speciation event than has actually occurred, necessitating the use of nuclear markers.

What potential issue arises when attempting to resolve recent Zokor splits using only mitochondrial DNA markers?

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