scholarly journals Genetic analysis of a wild-caught hybrid between non-sister Heliconius butterfly species

2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
pp. 660-663 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kanchon K Dasmahapatra ◽  
Armando Silva-Vásquez ◽  
Jae-Woo Chung ◽  
James Mallet

Interspecific hybridization occurs regularly in wild Heliconius butterflies, although hybrid individuals are usually very rare. However, hybridization generally occurs only between the most closely related species. We report a rare naturally occurring hybrid between non-sister species and carry out the first genetic analysis of such distant hybridization. Mitochondrial and nuclear genes indicate that the specimen is an F 1 hybrid between a female Heliconius ethilla and a male Heliconius melpomene , originating from a group of 13 species estimated to have diverged over 2.5 Myr ago. The presence of such distant natural hybrids, together with evidence for backcrossing, suggests that gene flow across species boundaries can take place long after speciation. Adaptive genes such as those involved in wing coloration could thus be widely shared among members of this highly mimetic genus.

Zootaxa ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 3303 (1) ◽  
pp. 59 ◽  
Author(s):  
CARLOS PRIETO ◽  
GABRIEL RODRIGUEZ

A new butterfly species, Podanotum pulsar Prieto & Rodríguez n. sp. is described from the high Andes of Colombia. Wepresent a brief discussion on its systematic placement and on adult ecology. Adult specimens and the genitalia of the male andfemale are illustrated and compared with the most closely related species Podanotum glorissimum Bálint & Wojtusiak, according to morphological characters.


Zootaxa ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 4362 (3) ◽  
pp. 359 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANDRE WAGNER ◽  
LAURENT VUATAZ ◽  
MICHEL SARTORI

A new species belonging to the speciose genus Electrogena Zurwerra & Tomka, 1985 is described based on all stages from material collected in Switzerland, northern Italy and Slovenia. Electrogena brulini Wagner sp. nov. is closely related to E. gridellii (Grandi, 1953). A genetic analysis based on the mitochondrial gene CO1, including 9 specimens from 5 populations, reveals a K2P distance of 22% between both species. Our investigations demonstrate that the description of the nymph of E. gridellii sensu Belfiore (1996) refers in fact to both species. Therefore, E. gridellii is redescribed in all stages. The number of bristles on each mandibular prostheca in the nymphs, the shape of titillators in male genitalia and the shape of the subanal plate in female imagines are the main characters allowing discrimination of these two species. This study also shows that in this case it is possible and helpful to use colour patterns to separate two closely related species. The re-examination of the type material of Electrogena vipavensis Zurwerra & Tomka, 1986 described from western Slovenia indicates that this species is a junior subjective synonym of E. gridellii. 


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (10) ◽  
pp. 3283-3295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor Borges Rezende ◽  
Carlos Congrains ◽  
André Luís A. Lima ◽  
Emeline Boni Campanini ◽  
Aline Minali Nakamura ◽  
...  

Zootaxa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4926 (4) ◽  
pp. 547-558
Author(s):  
AO ZHANG ◽  
XIN ZHOU

The larvae of Chinese caddisflies Potamyia chinensis and Cheumatopsyche trifascia were successfully associated with identifiable adults using independent DNA markers, mitochondrial COI barcodes and nuclear ribosomal 28S D2 genes. A total of 49 specimens collected in China were employed in the molecular analyses. The two markers were congruent on species boundaries for 11 distinctive haplogroups, while D2 failed in differentiating two closely related species. A brief summary for larval studies of both genera is given, followed by an introduction to the generic morphological characteristics, and detailed morphological descriptions and illustrations for the two successfully associated species. The larva of P. chinensis is re-described here based on Chinese materials, following the previous larval description for P. echigoensis, which was recently synonymized with P. chinensis.


Genetics ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 129 (3) ◽  
pp. 791-802
Author(s):  
J A Coyne ◽  
S Aulard ◽  
A Berry

Abstract In(2LR)PL is a large pericentric inversion polymorphic in populations of Drosophila melanogaster on two Indian Ocean islands. This polymorphism is puzzling: because crossing over in female heterokaryotypes produces inviable zygotes, such inversions are thought to be underdominant and should be quickly eliminated from populations. The observed fixation for such inversions among related species has led to the idea that genetic drift can cause chromosome evolution in opposition to natural selection. We found, however, that In(2LR)PL is not underdominant for fertility, as heterokaryotypic females produce perfectly viable eggs. Genetic analysis shows that the lack of underdominance results from the nearly complete absence of crossing over in the inverted region. This phenomenon is probably caused by mechanical and not genetic factors, because crossing over is not suppressed in In(2LR)PL homokaryotypes. Our observations do not support the idea that the fixation of pericentric inversions among closely related species implies the action of genetic drift overcoming strong natural selection in very small populations. If chromosome arrangements vary in their underdominance, it is those with the least disadvantage as heterozygotes, like In(2LR)PL, that will be polymorphic or fixed in natural populations.


2020 ◽  
Vol 287 (1931) ◽  
pp. 20201267
Author(s):  
Steven M. Van Belleghem ◽  
Paola A. Alicea Roman ◽  
Heriberto Carbia Gutierrez ◽  
Brian A. Counterman ◽  
Riccardo Papa

Müllerian mimicry strongly exemplifies the power of natural selection. However, the exact measure of such adaptive phenotypic convergence and the possible causes of its imperfection often remain unidentified. Here, we first quantify wing colour pattern differences in the forewing region of 14 co-mimetic colour pattern morphs of the butterfly species Heliconius erato and Heliconius melpomene and measure the extent to which mimicking colour pattern morphs are not perfectly identical. Next, using gene-editing CRISPR/Cas9 KO experiments of the gene WntA , which has been mapped to colour pattern diversity in these butterflies, we explore the exact areas of the wings in which WntA affects colour pattern formation differently in H. erato and H. melpomene. We find that, while the relative size of the forewing pattern is generally nearly identical between co-mimics, the CRISPR/Cas9 KO results highlight divergent boundaries in the wing that prevent the co-mimics from achieving perfect mimicry. We suggest that this mismatch may be explained by divergence in the gene regulatory network that defines wing colour patterning in both species, thus constraining morphological evolution even between closely related species.


1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (8) ◽  
pp. 1727-1734 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. H. Gooding

Postmating barriers to gene flow between closely related species and subspecies of tsetse flies include (i) reduced fecundity of hybridized and hybrid females and (ii) sterility of hybrid and backcross males, owing mainly to incompatibility between X and Y chromosomes from two different taxa or, possibly, incompatibility between the X from one taxon and autosomes from the other. There are also maternally inherited factors that confer unidirectional sterility upon males; these factors may influence the direction of gene flow. When Glossina morsitans morsitans and Glossina morsitans centralis are crossed, these factors appear to be unstable and lose their effectiveness as barriers to gene flow when hybrid females, from several consecutive generations, are backcrossed to G. m. centralis. In hybrid females of the morsitans group, intrachromosomal recombination is suppressed in the X chromosomes, but it may occur at near normal levels in at least part of linkage group II. Some backcross flies with chromosomes composed of segments from two different taxa are fertile. Naturally occurring hybrids have been found, but it appears that hybridization zones are narrow. It remains to be determined whether introgression of genes plays a significant role in the evolution of tsetse flies.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document