在昆明动物研究所张亚平院士的带领下，硕士生张栋儒与云南大学的陈明勇博士以及叶辉教授合作，对广泛分布在云贵高原地区的双团棘胸蛙进行了细致的种下群体遗传学分析。
他们的结果提示目前双团棘胸蛙的遗传结构反应了云南地区古水系发育的变迁，与现代水系结构不是对应的。目前呈现的各遗传分支可能是与早上新世以及更新世期间古水系重排而造成的物种群体片段化现象有关。在早中更新世期间，伴随着剧烈的气候变动，该物种内部发生了广泛的群体扩张。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推荐原文出处：
Molecular Ecology DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2010.04747.x
Genealogy and palaeodrainage basins in Yunnan Province: phylogeography of the Yunnan spiny frog, Nanorana yunnanensis (Dicroglossidae)
DONG-RU ZHANG 1,?, MING-YONG CHEN 1,2,3,?, ROBERT W. MURPHY 1,4, JING CHE 1, JUN-FENG PANG 1, JIAN-SHENG HU 2, JING LUO 2,5, SHAN-JIN WU 1,6, HUI YE 2, YA-PING ZHANG 1,5
Historical drainage patterns adjacent to the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau differed markedly from those of today. We examined the relationship between drainage history and geographic patterns of genetic variation in the Yunnan spiny frog, Nanorana yunnanensis, using approximately 981 base pairs of mitochondrial DNA partial sequences from protein-coding genes ND1 and ND2, and intervening areas including complete tRNAIle, tRNAGln and tRNAMet. Two null hypotheses were tested: (i) that genetic patterns do not correspond to the development of drainage systems and (ii) that populations had been stable and not experienced population expansion, bottlenecking and selection. Genealogical analyses identified three, major, well-supported maternal lineages, each of which had two sublineages. These divergent lineages were completely concordant with six geographical regions. Genetic structure and divergence were strongly congruent with historical rather than contemporary drainage patterns. Most lineages and sublineages were formed via population fragmentation during the rearrangement of paleodrainage basins in the Early Pliocene and Early Pleistocene. Sympatric lineages occurred only in localities at the boundaries of major drainages, likely reflecting secondary contact of previously allopatric populations. Extensive population expansion probably occurred early in the Middle Pleistocene accompanying dramatic climatic oscillations.
