Relationship Between Heterosis and Parental Genetic Distance Based on Molecular Markers for Functional Genes Related to Yield Traits in Rice

The genetic distances among 18 cytoplasmic male sterile lines and 11 restorer lines were analyzed with molecular markers derived from yield-related functional genes. The correlation between parental genetic distance and heterosis was investigated by analyzing the performance of 47 combinations. The results showed that the genetic distance was significantly correlated with yield heterosis （r=0.29^＊）, but not significantly correlated with heterosis for other traits, such as number of effective panicles per plant, seed setting rate, 1000-grain weight, number of grains per panicle and theoretical yield. However, the correlation coefficient was so small that the parental genetic distance could not to be used to predict heterosis.

Relationship Between F_1,F_2 Hybrid Yield, Heterosis and Genetic Distance Measured by Molecular Markers and Parent Performance in Cotton

Genetic distance among 36 cotton cultivars measured by molecular markers of RAPDs, ISSRs, and SSRs was from 0.0701 to 0.4255 with the mean of 0.2844, and from 2.18 to 12.60 with the mean of 7.04 based on the genotype performance in two-year field experiments, which has a significant positive correlation (r = 0.3350). The correlative coefficients for boll number per plant, boll weight, yield per plant, lint percent and lint yield per plant were 0.8035,0.8877,0.7135,0.9640 and 0.8956 between F1 and F2 hybrid performance assessed by three-environment field experiments, respectively. The mean of F1 and F2 hybrid het-erosis of yield per plant and lint yield per plant were 13.62% , 16.31% , 7.90% and 9.02% , and the correlative coefficients between them were 0.3689 and 0.3787, respectively. The correlation between the genetic distance and heterosis was low, and influenced directly by the selected parents.

An Analysis on the Relationship between Maize Heterosis and Genetic Distance

13 normal maize inbred lines with quite different quantitative traits were used as experimental materials in this paper. The results showed that there was significantly positive correlation between genetic distance and plot yield,mid-parent heterosis,super heterosis,or SCA of yield. In a certain range,the longer the genetic distance between parental inbred lines,the stronger the heterosis. Therefore,in genetic practice,it was necessary to take the molecular genetic distance between inbred lines as an important reference.

Phylogenetic Analyses Reveal a Unique Species of Elaphe(Serpentes,Colubridae)New to Science

The snakes comprising the monophyletic group referred to as ratsnakes are found throughout Asia,Europe and the New World.Recently,three snake samples likely belonging to the ratsnakes were collected in Zoige County,Sichuan Province,China.Species identity was difficult to delimit morphologically because the specimens were juveniles and partially damaged.Subsequently,a molecular phylogenetic approach was used.Portions of three mitochondrial genes(cyt b,ND4 and 12S rRNA) were sequenced and analyzed.The results showed that they were sister to the genus Elaphe.Very little genetic variation was found among the three samples.The minimum genetic distances between these samples and those within Elaphe were greater than any currently recognized species within the genus.We conclude that this likely represents a new species within the genus Elaphe.Adult specimens and a morphologic description are needed for further study.

RAPD Assessment of Genetic Diversity of Yunjie(Eruca sativa Mill.)in China

Genetic diversity of Yunjie(.Eruca sativa Mill.)in China was assessed by analyses of RAPD(randomly amplified polymorphic DNA)markers. Twenty native cultivars representing Yunjie-growing eco-types in China were selected as material in this study. Twelve out of the 64 tested random decamer primers were able to identify 131 stable RAPD bands from these Yunjie cultivars. Of them 105 bands, or 80.15% of the total, were polymorphic. Most Yunjie cultivars from the same ecotype had their characteristic DNA bands. Cluster analysis by unweighted pair group method of arithmetic means(UPGMA)suggested that the 20 Yunjie genotypes could be divided into four groups. The genetic distances among the 20 cultivars varied from 0.117 8 between Shuozhou and Shenchi to 0. 499 4 between Hetian and Xiliang. Hetian alone could be a new type of Yunjie identified in China because it had the greatest genetic distance from all the other tested cultivars. These results indicate that Chinese Yunjie have abundant genetic diversity. Classification of Chinese Yunjie based on the RAPD information was in good agreement with the relationships between these Yunjie cultivars in their geographic origins and their plant morphology.

Analysis of parental genetic diversity and its impact on grain yield and quality of japonica hybrid rice in northern China

The relationship between parental genetic differences and the quality and yield of japonica hybrid rice strongly influences japonica hybrid rice breeding.In this study,137 parental lines of japonica hybrid rice were genotyped using 8 K rice SNP-Chips to characterize their genetic diversity,population structure,and indica-genotype proportion.The genetic diversity of total parental lines averaged 0.264,with values of0.287 for restorer lines and 0.148 for the sterile lines.The introduction of indica lineage increased the genetic diversity of restorer lines relative to that of sterile lines.By model-based population structure analysis,the 137 lines were divided into 14 groups.According to the grouping results,eight restorer lines and five sterile lines were selected from different groups for cross breeding,yielding 40 japonica hybrid rice combinations(F1).Investigation of the yield and quality of these combinations showed that highyield combinations could be obtained by increasing parental genetic distance to 0.8–0.9,a result accomplished largely by the introduction of indica genomic components of restorer lines.To further improve grain quality,the genetic distance between parents should be reduced to 0.4–0.5,suggesting an indicagenotype proportion of 30%–40%for restorer lines.This study may provide a reference for breeding of japonica hybrid rice.

Performance and genetic diversity of 23 provenances of northern red oak(Quercus rubra L.)after 25 years of growth in South Korea

Growth traits and genetic diversity of 23 provenances of Quercus rubra introduced from North America were analyzed in a provenance trial established with a randomized block design in Hwaseong,Gyeonggi,South Korea in 1993.Growth variables and survival at age 25 were compared with results from early stages.Height,DBH,volume and stem straightness of Q.rubra was better than those of the domestic oak(Quercus accutissima).Growth of the Dunham Island provenance from New York was the best among the 23 provenances that of the Eagle River provenance from Wisconsin was poorest.Survival rate at age25 was on average 52%.The longitude of seed origin and growth of provenance were consistently significantly negatively correlated at all ages.Growth of coastal provenances was superior to that of the inland provenances,which were separated by the Appalachian Mountains.Genetic diversity and genetic distance among the provenances were evaluated using micro satellite markers.The allelic frequencies showed high polymorphism in 10 microsatellite loci,and 292 alleles were found.Of 10 loci,two were commonly found in the 23 provenances.The mean allelic diversity and heterozygosity observed among the provenances were similar to those from the native populations of Q.rubra in North America.Nei’s genetic distance among the 23 was estimated and showed that a clear trend between geographic and genetic distances,indicating that some provenances have high genetic diversity with superior growth performance.

Genetic Diversity of Three Aristichthys nobilis Populations and One Inbreeding Stock

Genetic diversity of threeAristichthys nobilis populations and one inbreeding stock was studied using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) method. Materials of natural populations were collected from two counties of Guangxi Province, Hengxian (NH) and Shanglin (NS) and one city of Hubei Province, Wuhan city. (NW). Shanglin and Hengxian's river system respectively belongs to Qianjiang and Yujiang River, two tributaries confluencing to Xunjiang River, main tributary of Xijiang River, which is the biggest tributary of the Zhujiang River system, and Wuhan's water system belongs to the Yangtse River system. The inbreeding stock (RS) was the more than 10 generation descendant by brother-sister mating system whose parents were collected from Shanglin. The results showed that the genetic variety of individuals of RS was very low (0.105 4), whereas that of natural populations was relatively high, which from high to low was 0.158 1 (NW), 0.132 0 (NH) and 0.110 5 (NS). As an index for genetic distance pair-wise populations, the genetic variety between populations was studied, which characterized the genetic distance between populations. The genetic distance of NW and NH, NW and NS, NW and RS were respectively high, whereas that of NH and NS, NS and RS, NH and RS was low. Chi-test (χ 2) and the analysis of the genetic variety pair-wise populations was taken as efficient approach for studying population difference.

USING STR POLYMORPHISM TO STUDY THE GENETIC RELATIONSHIPS AMONG A CHINESE KOREAN POPULATION AND OTHER GROUPS

Objective To discuss the genetic relationship between Chaoxian and the other populations with STR polymorphisms, and study the origination of Chaoxian with historical data, analyze the difference among them. Methods Samples were obtained from 91 unrelated individuals of Jilin province. PCR amplification was performed using PE9700, the results were analyzed with the GeneScan software and then using the Genetic Analyzer ABI377 and Genotyper2.5. Tests for Hardy Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) and the clustering map were carried out using SPSS11.5. The DA (genetic distance) according to Nei's was calculated and a phylogenetic tree based on the neighbor-joining method using Mega2 software package was constructed. Results 81 alleles and 196 genotypes were observed, with the corresponding frequencies ranging from 0.0055 to 0.4615 and 0.0110 to 0.2747, the observed and expected of genotypes were evaluated using χ 2-test and all of the loci were in accordance with Hardy Weinberg equilibrium (P> 0.05). Chaoxian was clustered with the other Chinese ethnic groups, then the American Black and the White; it was clustered with the Baishan Han, the Beijing Han of China first, then the South Korean. Conclusion The differentiation among races is larger than that among minorities, and, the differentiation among minorities is related to and is consistent with their geographic location.

Study on Phylogenetic Relationships of Five Breeds of Pigs by Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA(RAPD)

RAPD was used to study the genetic divergency and phylogenetic relationships of five breeds of domestic pigs,including Min pig,Duroc,Yorkshired,Landrace and Junmu I pig.We selected fourteen primers from eighty random primers,caculated genetic distance index matrix and constructed phylogenetic tree with UPGMA methods.Genetic distance index matrix indicated that the genetic relationship between Junmu I pig and Landrace was the closest and the farthest between Duroc and min pig.

Assessment of Genetic Diversity of NIFOR Oil Palm Main Breeding Parent Genotypes Using Microsatellite Markers

The genetic diversity among 15 NIFOR breeding parents was assessed using 10 microsatellite markers. A high genetic diversity was observed with a total of 64 alleles including 23 rare alleles or alleles at frequencies less than 0.05. The NIFOR tenera parents recorded the highest number of rare alleles. The average observed heterozygosity and mean gene diversity across all parental groups were 0.6889 and 0.7029, respectively. Higher genetic diversity was detected among the NIFOR dura and tenera parents compared to that of the Deli dura parents in absolute terms. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) showed that 87% of the total variation (p < 0.001) observed was due to differences among parents. Rogers’ genetic distance ranged from 0.2988 to 0.8000 (mean = 0.5570). The dendrogram constructed on the basis of Rogers’ genetic distance clustered the parents in three groups. They generally clustered in heterotic manner rather than by geographic origins. The groupings obtained through PCoA confirmed the results obtained by cluster analysis. The results obtained are strong assets for NIFOR breeding programme.

Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of Three Strains of Indigenous Tswana Chickens and Commercial Broiler Using Single Nucleotide Polymormophic (SNP) Markers

The Tswana chicken is native to Botswana and comprises strains such as the naked neck, normal, dwarf, frizzled, and rumples. The origins of the different strains of Tswana chicken remain unknown and it is not yet clear if the different strains represent distinct breeds within the large Tswana chicken population. Genetic characterization of different strains of Tswana chickens using SNP arrays can elucidate their genetic relationships and ascertain if the strains represent distinct breeds of Tswana chicken population. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate population structure and diversity and to estimate genetic distances/identity between the naked neck, normal and dwarf strains of Tswana chickens. A total of 96 chickens (normal strain (n = 39), naked neck strain (n = 32), dwarf strain (n = 13) and commercial broiler (n = 12)) were used in the study. SNP genotyping was carried out using the Illumina chicken iSelect SNP 60 Bead chip using the Infinium assay compatible with the Illumina HiScan SQ genotyping platform. The observed heterozygosity (Ho) values were 0.610 ± 0.012, 0.611 ± 0.014, 0.613 ± 0.0006 for normal, naked neck and dwarf strains of Tswana chickens respectively and averaged 0.611 ± 0.016 across the three strains of Tswana chickens compared to Ho of 0.347 ± 0.023 in commercial broiler chicken. The expected heterozygosity (He) values were 0.613 ± 0.00012, 0.614 ± 0.00013, 0.608 ± 0.00021 for normal, naked neck and dwarf strains of Tswana chickens respectively and averaged 0.612 ± 0.00015 across the three strains of Tswana chickens compared to He of 0.577 ± 0.00022 in commercial broiler chicken. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to get an insight into the population structure of indigenous Tswana chickens. The first two principal components revealed a set of three clusters. The normal strain of Tswana chicken and commercial broiler clustered together in one group. The dwarf strain clustered separately in one group and the naked neck and normal strains clustered together in the last group. The separate clustering of the dwarf strain from the rest of Tswana chicken strains suggests significant genetic uniqueness of the dwarf strain and very close genetic similarities between the normal and naked neck strains. The clustering pattern was confirmed by less genetic differentiation and less genetic distances between the naked neck and normal strains of Tswana chicken than between the two strains and the dwarf strain of Tswana chicken.

THE STUDY OF POPULATION GENETIC RELATION AMONG TEN ETHNIC GROUPS IN NORTHWEST CH INA

Objective To investigate the genetic relation am on g ten ethnic groups in northwest China. Methods Allele frequ encies of six STR(short tandem repeat ) loci in D13S1358, VWA, FGA, D5S818, D13S 317, and D7S820 were collected from Lasa Tibetan, Changdu Tibetan, Xi'an Han, G ansu Dongxiang, Gansu Yugu, Xinjiang Uygur, Ozbak, Kirgiz, Sibe, Ningxia Hui by the results of State Key laboratory, Forensic Science Department, school of medi cal, Xi'an Jiaotong University and internet biological information data bank, a nd compared with that of the Mongolian, Zhuang in China, and White and Negro in USA. The polymorphism index (H, DP, PPE, PIC) and genetic distance, then the phy logenetic tree of all population were reported. Results The res ulting tree topology exhibited strong geographic and racial partitioning consist ent with that obtained with HLA and classical genetic polymorphisms. Conclusion The results suggest that forensic STR loci may be particular ly powerful tools and provide the necessary fine resolution for the reconstructi on of recent human evolutionary history.

Comprehensive DNA barcode reference library and optimization of genetic divergence threshold facilitate the exploration of species diversity of green lacewings (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae)

Chrysopidae are a family of Neuroptera of significant importance in biocontrol against agricultural pests because of their predatory larvae.Currently,the taxonomy of Chrysopidae lacks a comprehensive revision,which impedes the exploration of species diversity as well as the selection and the conservation of green lacewings as biocontrol agents.We have established a DNA barcode reference library of the Chinese green lacewings based on an approximately complete sampling(95.63%)in 25 of the 34 provincial regions in China,comprising 1119 barcodes of 25 genera and 197 species(representing 85%genera and 43.62%species from China).Combining other 1049 high quality green lacewing DNA barcodes,we first inferred the optimal threshold of interspecific genetic divergence(1.87%)for successful species identification in multiple simulated scenarios based on present data.We further inferred the threshold of genetic divergence(7.77%)among genera with biocontrol significance.The inference and performance of the threshold appears to be mainly associated with the completeness of sampling,the proportion of closely related species,and the analytical approaches.Six new combinations,Apertochrysa platypa(Yang&Yang,1991)comb.nov.,Apertochrysa shennongana(Yang&Wang,1990)comb.nov.,Apertochrysa pictifacialis(Yang,1988)comb.nov.,Apertochrysa helana(Yang,1993)comb.nov.,Plesiochrysa rosulata(Yang&Yang,2002)comb.nov.,and Signochrysa hainana(Yang&Yang,1991),are proposed according to integrative species delimitation.Our library and optimal threshold will effectively facilitate the exploration of species diversity of green lacewings.Our study also provides a methodological reference in molecular delimitation of other insects.

SSR fingerprinting of 203 sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) varieties

Simple sequence repeat （SSR） markers have been shown to be a powerful tool for varieties identification in plants. How- ever, SSR fingerprinting of sweetpotato varieties has been a little reported. In this study, a total of 1 294 SSIR primer pairs, including 1 215 genomic-SSR and 79 expressed sequence tag （EST）-SSR primer pairs, were screened with sweetpotato varieties Zhengshu 20 and Luoxushu 8 and their 2 F1 individuals randomly sampled, and 273 and 38 of them generated polymorphic bands, respectively. Four genomic-SSR and 3 EST-SSR primer pairs, which showed good polymorphism, were selected to amplify 203 sweetpotato varieties and gave a total of 172 bands, 85 （49.42%） of which were polymorphic. All of the 203 sweetpotato varieties showed unique fingerprint patterns, indicating the utility of SSR markers in variety iden- tification of this crop. Polymorphism information content （PIC） ranged from 0.5824 to 0.9322 with an average of 0.8176. SSR-based genetic distances varied from 0.0118 to 0.6353 with an average of 0.3100 among these varieties. Thus, these sweetpotato varieties exhibited high levels of genetic similarity and had distinct fingerprint profiles. The SSR fingerprints of the 203 sweetpotato varieties have been successfully constructed. The highly polymorphic SSR primer pairs developed in this study have the potential to be used as core primer pairs for variety identification, genetic diversity assessment and linkage map construction in sweetpotato and other plants.

Determination of Heterotic Groups and Heterosis Analysis of Yield Performance in indica Rice

To compare the heterosis levels among various groups of parental lines used extensively in China, identify foundational heterotic groups in parental pools and understand the relationship between genetic distance and heterosis performance, 16 parental lines with extensive genetic variation were selected from various sub-groups, and 39 hybrid combinations were generated and evaluated in Fujian and Hainan Provinces of China. The main results were as follows： （1） The 16 parental lines can be grouped into 7 sub-groups consisting of 1 maintainer sub-group and 6 restorer sub-groups; （2） Mean grain yield of the restorer lines was higher than that of the maintainer lines, and mean yield of parental lines was higher than that of the hybrid combinations; （3） The two best heterotic patterns were II-32A × G5 and II-32A × G6, moreover, the order of restorer sub-groups according to grain yield, from the highest to lowest, was G7, G6, G5, G4, G3 and G2; High specific combining ability values were observed for combinations of II-32A × G5, II-32A × G6 and Tianfeng A × G7; （4） Hybrid combinations derived from II-32A crossed with 13 restorer lines had higher yield trait values （mid-parent heterosis, better-parent heterosis, standard heterosis over check and specific combining ability） than any other combinations; （5） Genetic distance was positively correlated with panicle number, grain length and length-to-width ratio （P 〈 0.05） and negatively correlated with grain width, grain yield, seed-setting rate, as well as mid-parent heterosis, standard heterosis over check, and specific combining ability for grain yield （P 〈 0.01）. These heterotic groups and patterns and their argonomic traits will provide useful information for future hybrid rice breeding programs.

Separation and relationship of ten marine scuticociliates (Protozoa, Ciliophora) using RAPD fingerprinting method

On the basis of the random amplified polymorphic DNA-fingerprinting (RAPD) method, 10 morphospecies of scuticociliates from 7 genera, including 15 clones of 13 strains, Uronema marinum,Uronema cf marinum, Parauronema virginianum, P. longum, Metanophrys similis, M. sinensis, Paralembus digitiformis, Mesanophrys carcini, Paranophrys magna and Cohnilembus verminus were analysed using 8 oligonucleotide primers. The genetic similarity among the clones of the same strain measured by a band-sharing index is 0.97￣0.98, while 0.40￣0.52 among strains. This value measured is 0.39￣0.46 among congeners of the same genus, whereas 0.16￣0.47 between different genera. A distance tree was constructed based on 8-primer analysis, in which the scuticociliates investigated were separated into two clusters: one consists of 2 genera, Uronema and Parauronema, and the other was composed of five, Metanophrys, Mesanophrys, Paranophrys, Paralembus and Cohnilembus. It is demonstrated also that the morphospecies Parauronema virginianum may be a species-complex, i. e., it contains different genospecies.

Method of Constructing Core Collection for Malus sieversii in Xinjiang,China Using Molecular Markers

The method for constructing core collection ofMalus sieversii based on molecular marker data was proposed. According to 128 SSR allele of 109 M. sieversii, an allele preferred sampling strategy was used to construct M. sieversii core collection, using the UPGMA （unweighted pair-group average method） cluster method according to Nei ＆ Li, SM, and Jaccard genetic distances, by stepwise clustering, and compared with the random sampling strategy. The number of lost allele and t-test of Nei＇s gene diversity and Shannon＇s information index were used to evaluate the representative core collections. The results showed that compared with the random sampling strategy, allele preferred sampling strategy could construct more representative core collections. SM, difference for construction of M. sieversii core collection. Jaccard, and Nei ＆ Li genetic distances had no significant SRAP （sequence-related amplified polymorphism） data and morphological data showed that allele preferred sampling strategy was a good sampling strategy for constructing core collection of M. sieversii. Allele preferred sampling strategy combined with SM, Jaccard, and Nei ＆ Li genetic distances using stepwise clustering was the suitable method for constructing M. sieversii core collection.

Source-Sink Relationship in Intersubspecific Hybrid Rice

Three indica restorer lines （Mianhui 725, Shuhui 527, Shuhui 881）, an American rice variety Lemont and a javanica rice variety Xiangdali were crossed with japonica Kitaake, and five F1 hybrids were obtained to study the photosynthetic and agronomic traits. The data on photosynthetic characteristics indicated that the net photosynthetic rate （Pn） of the five F1 hybrids was significantly higher than that of their parents （or one of them） under high photosynthetic flux density （PFD）; while the overall performance of hybrids was better than their respective parents in apparent quantum yield （AQY）, carboxylation efficiency （CE） and CO2 compensation point （CCP）. Moreover, the photosynthetic performance of the five F1 were different due to the variation in heredity and the typical indica-japonica hybrids, Mianhui 725/Kitaake and Shuhui 527/Kitaake, were better than the others on this aspect. The agronomic traits revealed that the five F1 exhibited different heterosis, with Shuhui 881/Kitaake the largest sink followed by Mianhui 725/Kitaake, Shuhui 527/Kitaake, Lemont/Kitaake and Xiangdali/Kitaake. The production potential of indica-japonica hybrids was higher than that of the other two hybrids, which was consistent with the performance of Pn. However, the superior trait of indica-japonica hybrids on sink size has not been fully turned into high yield because of abnormal seed setting. Therefore, attention should be paid to the proper genome coordination and appropriate genetic distance so as to achieve super high yielding.

Integrative taxonomy of the Plain-backed Thrush(Zoothera mollissima)complex(Aves,Turdidae)reveals cryptic species,including a new species

Background: The Plain-backed Thrush Zoothera mollissima breeds in the Himalayas and mountains of central China. It was long considered conspecific with the Long-tailed Thrush Zoothera dixoni, until these were shown to be broadly sympatric.Methods: We revise the Z. mollissima–Z. dixoni complex by integrating morphological, acoustic, genetic(two mitochondrial and two nuclear markers), ecological and distributional datasets.Results: In earlier field observations, we noted two very different song types of "Plain-backed" Thrush segregated by breeding habitat and elevation. Further integrative analyses congruently identify three groups: an alpine breeder in the Himalayas and Sichuan, China("Alpine Thrush"); a forest breeder in the eastern Himalayas and northwest Yunnan(at least), China("Himalayan Forest Thrush"); and a forest breeder in central Sichuan("Sichuan Forest Thrush"). Alpine and Himalayan Forest Thrushes are broadly sympatric, but segregated by habitat and altitude, and the same is probably true also for Alpine and Sichuan Forest Thrushes. These three groups differ markedly in morphology and songs. In addition, DNA sequence data from three non-breeding specimens from Yunnan indicate that yet another lineage exists("Yunnan Thrush"). However, we find no consistent morphological differences from Alpine Thrush, and its breeding range is unknown. Molecular phylogenetic analyses suggest that all four groups diverged at least a few million years ago, and identify Alpine Thrush and the putative "Yunnan Thrush" as sisters, and the two forest taxa as sisters. Cytochrome b divergences among the four Z. mollissima sensu lato(s.l.) clades are similar to those between any of them and Z. dixoni, and exceed that between the two congeneric outgroup species. We lectotypify the name Oreocincla rostrata Hodgson, 1845 with the Z. mollissima sensu stricto(s.s.) specimen long considered its type. No available name unambiguously pertains to the Himalayan Forest Thrush.Conclusions: The Plain-backed Thrush Z. mollissima s.l. comprises at least three species: Alpine Thrush Z. mollissima s.s., with a widespread alpine breeding distribution; Sichuan Forest Thrush Z. griseiceps, breeding in central Sichuan forests; and Himalayan Forest Thrush, breeding in the eastern Himalayas and northwest Yunnan(at least), which is described herein as a new species. "Yunnan Thrush" requires further study.