Phylogenetic Divergence (phylogenetic + divergence)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Phylogenetic divergence in leatherside chub (Gila copei) inferred from mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences

MOLECULAR ECOLOGY, Issue 8 2000
Jerald B. Johnson
Abstract We examined intra-specific phylogenetic relationships in leatherside chub, Gila copei. The complete mitochondrial (mt) cytochrome b gene (1140 bp) was sequenced for 30 individuals from 10 populations that span the geographical distribution of this species. Traditional phylogenetic analyses revealed two deeply divergent and evolutionarily distinct mtDNA clades that are geographically separated in northern and southern drainage basins. Inter-population sequence variation between clades ranged from 7.7 to 8.1%. The northern clade was genetically more similar and phylogenetically more closely related to the selected out-group Lepidomeda m. mollispinus than to the southern clade, suggesting that the taxonomy of this species may require revision. Sequence variation among populations within clades ranged from 0 to 0.3% in the north and from 0 to 0.7% in the south. Statistical parsimony was used to construct phylogenetic networks of haplotypes within clades. Nested clade analysis revealed that geographical fragmentation has played an important role in genetic structuring within northern and southern clades. [source]


Phylogeography of cave pseudoscorpions in southern Australia

JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY, Issue 6 2007
T. A. Moulds
Abstract Aim, To investigate molecular phylogenetic divergence and historical biogeography of the cave-dwelling pseudoscorpion genus Protochelifer. Location, Caves and nearby epigean habitats in southern Australia were sampled from western Victoria, Naracoorte Caves, Flinders Ranges, Kangaroo Island, Nullarbor Plain and south-west Western Australia. Methods, Allozyme electrophoresis (57 individuals) and a 569-base-pair section of the mtDNA COI gene (22 individuals) were used to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships among four cave species and three epigean species from 13 locations. Results, Phylogenetic reconstruction using the allozyme and mtDNA sequence data revealed a similar topology, showing recent speciation of several Protochelifer populations in caves from Naracoorte to the Nullarbor Plain. Naracoorte Caves contained a single species, Protochelifer naracoortensis, found in four separate caves, while all other cave species appear to be restricted to single caves. Main conclusions, At a local scale, as indicated by the four Naracoorte caves, dispersal is thought to occur via micro- and mesocaverns, and possibly by phoresy using insect or bat vectors. With current data we are unable to determine if cavernicolous species of Protochelifer have arisen from a single cave colonization event followed by phoretic dispersal on bats to other caves, or multiple cave-invasion events from independent epigean ancestors. Genetic heterogeneity among Protochelifer populations from Nullarbor caves suggest that P. cavernarum, the only species presently recorded from this region, is likely to constitute a species complex requiring further study to fully resolve its relationships. [source]


Molecular evidence for deep phylogenetic divergence in Mandrillus sphinx

MOLECULAR ECOLOGY, Issue 7 2003
P. T. Telfer
Abstract Mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx) are forest primates indigenous to western central Africa. Phylogenetic analysis of 267 base pairs (bp) of the cytochrome b gene from 53 mandrills of known and 17 of unknown provenance revealed two phylogeographical groups, with haplotypes differentiated by 2.6% comprising seven synonymous transitions. The distribution of the haplotypes suggests that the Ogooué River, Gabon, which bisects their range, separates mandrill populations in Cameroon and northern Gabon from those in southern Gabon. The haplotype distribution is also concordant with that of two known mandrill simian immunodeficiency viruses, suggesting that these two mandrill phylogroups have followed different evolutionary trajectories since separation. [source]


Does the skull carry a phylogenetic signal?

BIOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY, Issue 4 2008
Evolution, modularity in the guenons
Form and genes often tell different stories about the evolution of animals, with molecular data generally considered to be more objective than morphological data. However, form provides the basis for the description of organisms, and the study of fossils crucially depends on morphology. Complex organisms tend to evolve as ,mosaics', in which parts may be modified at varying rates and in response to different selective pressures. Thus, individual anatomical regions may contain different phylogenetic signals. In the present study, we used computerized methods to ,dissect' the skulls of a primate clade, the guenons, into functional and developmental modules (FDM). The potential of different modules as proxies for phylogenetic divergence in modern lineages was investigated. We found that the chondrocranium was the only FDM in which shape consistently had a strong and significant phylogenetic signal. This region might be less susceptible to epigenetic factors and thus more informative about phylogeny. The examination of the topology of trees from the chondrocranium suggested that the main differences evolved at the time of the radiation of terrestrial and arboreal guenons. However, phylogenetic reconstructions were found to be strongly affected by sampling error, with more localized anatomical regions (i.e. smaller/less complex FDMs) generally producing less reproducible tree topologies. This finding, if confirmed in other groups, implies that the utility of specific FDMs for phylogenetic inference could, in many cases, be hampered by the low reproducibility of results. The study also suggested that uncertainties due to sampling error may be larger than those from character sampling. This might have implications for phylogenetic analyses, which typically provide estimates of support of tree nodes based on characters but do not generally take into account the effect of sampling error on the tree topology. Nonetheless, studies of the potential of different FDMs as proxies for phylogenetic divergence in modern lineages, such as the present study, provide a framework that may help in modelling the morphological evolution of present and fossil species. © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2008, 93, 813,834. [source]


Mainland colonization by island lizards

JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY, Issue 6 2005
Kirsten E. Nicholson
Abstract Aim, We investigate biogeographic relationships within the lizard genus Anolis Daudin, 1802 to test the hypothesis that the mainland (Central and South American) Norops-clade species descended from a West Indian Anolis ancestor. Previous hypotheses have suggested that close island relatives of mainland Norops species (the Cuban Anolis sagrei and Jamaican A. grahami series) represent over-water dispersal from a mainland ancestor. These previous hypotheses predict that the A. sagrei and A. grahami series should be phylogenetically nested within a Norops clade whose ancestral geography traces to the mainland. If Norops is West Indian in origin, then West Indian species should span the deepest phylogenetic divergences within the Norops clade. Location, Central and South America and West Indian islands. Methods, The phylogenetic relationships of Anolis lizards are reconstructed from aligned DNA sequences using both parsimony and Bayesian approaches. Hypotheses are tested in two ways: (1) by reconstructing the ancestral geographic location for the Norops clade using Pagel & Lutzoni's (2002) Bayesian approach, and (2) by testing alternative topological arrangements via Wilcoxon Signed-Ranks tests (Templeton, 1983) and Shimodaira,Hasegawa tests (Shimodaira & Hasegawa, 1999). Results, Our evidence supports an origin of mainland Norops anoles from a West Indian ancestor. A West Indian ancestor to the Norops clade is statistically supported, and alternatives to the biogeographic pattern [Cuban (Jamaican, Mainland)] are statistically rejected by Shimodaira,Hasegawa tests, although not by Wilcoxon Signed-Ranks tests. Main conclusions, Our data support the hypothesis of a West Indian origin for mainland Norops. This result contradicts previous hypotheses and suggests that island forms may be an important source for mainland biodiversity. [source]