Phylogeography and genetic ancestry of tigers (Panthera tigris)

This study analyzed mitochondrial and microsatellite markers from tigers across their range and provided the first comprehensive molecular framework supporting multiple traditional subspecies. The authors recovered distinct genetic signatures for Bengal, Indochinese, Malayan, Sumatran, Amur, and South China tigers, and used these results to propose the recognition of the Malayan tiger as a separate subspecies. Their work underpinned the long-standing six-living-subspecies arrangement and informed captive breeding and reintroduction planning. The paper became a reference point in the later debate over whether tigers should be split into many subspecies or lumped into two. It demonstrated measurable geographic structure while also showing relatively recent divergence among populations, a tension at the heart of tiger taxonomy.