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On the association of restriction fragment length polymorphisms across species boundaries.

We study the expected values of gametic-phase disequilibrium in both nuclear and cytonuclear systems in a finite population composed of reproductively isolated subpopulations. Random drift alone within each subpopulation will generate permanent overall non-zero gametic-phase disequilibrium in both a two-locus nuclear system and a cytonuclear system unless the population has an overall initial disequilibrium of zero. We derive formulae for the expected overall disequilibrium when mutation is involved and demonstrate that these values decay to zero at an extremely slow rate compared with the decay of the expected disequilibria within each subpopulation.

Animals↗

Ancient and recent patterns of geographic speciation in the oyster mushroom Pleurotus revealed by phylogenetic analysis of ribosomal DNA sequences.

Evidence from molecular systematic studies suggests that many mushroom species may be quite ancient. Gene phylogenies were developed to examine the relationship between reproductive isolation, genetic divergence, and biogeography in oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus). Sequence data were obtained for two regions of DNA from populations belonging to eight intersterility groups (biological species). Phylogenetic analysis of sequences from the 5' portion of the nuclear encoded large subunit rDNA demonstrates an ancient origin for four intersterility groups of broad geographic distribution (world-wide), with a more recent radiation of several intersterility groups that are restricted to the Northern Hemisphere. An expanded analysis using sequence data from the more variable rDNA internal transcribed spacer region also reveals a phylogenetically based pattern of genetic divergence associated with allopatric speciation among populations from different continents in the Northern Hemisphere. The ability of rDNA sequences to resolve phylogenetic relationships among geographically isolated populations within intersterility groups illustrates the importance of biogeography for understanding speciation in Pleurotus. Patterns of geographic distribution among intersterility groups suggest that several species lineages evolved quite early, with recently evolved groups restricted to the Northern Hemisphere and older lineages occurring throughout the world. Based on phylogenetic evidence, analysis of historical biogeography using area cladograms shows that multiple dispersal and vicariance events are responsible for patterns of speciation observed.

Base Sequence↗

Chromosomal speciation and adaptive radiation of mole rats in Asia Minor correlated with increased ecological stress.

The evolutionary forces causing chromosomal speciation and adaptation are still enigmatic. Here we tested the Israel evolutionary model of positive association of diploid chromosome number (2n) and genetic diversity with aridity stress in subterranean mole rats, on a 30-times-larger scale in Asia Minor. We analyzed both karyotype and allozyme diversity across Turkey, based on 37 allozymic loci in 20 localities of the Spalax leucodon and 4 localities of the Spalax ehrenbergi superspecies. We found extensive chromosomal speciation in S. leucodon (2n = 38, 40, 50, 54, 60, and 62) and in S. ehrenbergi (2n = 52, 56, and 58), presumably representing from 14 to > 20 additional biological species. Genetic diversity indices were low, but, like the chromosome number (2n), positively correlated with aridity stress, increasing centripetally from the periphery toward geologically young, arid, and climatically unpredictable central Anatolia. Nei's genetic distance D across all populations averaged 0.174 (range 0.002-0.422), supporting, combined with 2n and ecogeography, the biological species status of most tested populations. Chromosome evolution is the basis of speciation and adaptation in Spalax; it provides both postmating reproductive isolation, as well as higher levels of recombination with increased 2n. A mathematical model shows that a Robertsonian fission of a single metacentric considerably increases haplotype diversity. This haplotype diversity may contribute to population adaptation to climatic stress and ecological unpredictability in space and time. The increase in diversity corroborates the nichewidth genetic-variation hypothesis.

Animals↗

Wolbachia, normally a symbiont of Drosophila, can be virulent, causing degeneration and early death.

Wolbachia, a maternally transmitted microorganism of the Rickettsial family, is known to cause cytoplasmic incompatibility, parthenogenesis, or feminization in various insect species. The bacterium-host relationship is usually symbiotic: incompatibility between infected males and uninfected females can enhance reproductive isolation and evolution, whereas the other mechanisms enhance progeny production. We have discovered a variant Wolbachia carried by Drosophila melanogaster in which this cozy relationship is abrogated. Although quiescent during the fly's development, it begins massive proliferation in the adult, causing widespread degeneration of tissues, including brain, retina, and muscle, culminating in early death. Tetracycline treatment of carrier flies eliminates both the bacteria and the degeneration, restoring normal life-span. The 16s rDNA sequence is over 98% identical to Wolbachia known from other insects. Examination of laboratory strains of D. melanogaster commonly used in genetic experiments reveals that a large proportion actually carry Wolbachia in a nonvirulent form, which might affect their longevity and behavior.

Animals↗

Selective maintenance of allozyme differences among sympatric host races of the apple maggot fly.

Whether phytophagous insects can speciate in sympatry when they shift and adapt to new host plants is a controversial question. One essential requirement for sympatric speciation is that disruptive selection outweighs gene flow between insect populations using different host plants. Empirical support for host-related selection (i.e., fitness trade-offs) is scant, however. Here, we test for host-dependent selection acting on apple (Malus pumila)- and hawthorn (Crataegus spp.)-infesting races of Rhagoletis pomonella (Diptera: Tephritidae). In particular, we examine whether the earlier fruiting phenology of apple trees favors pupae in deeper states of diapause (or with slower metabolisms/development rates) in the apple fly race. By experimentally lengthening the time period preceding winter, we exposed hawthorn race pupae to environmental conditions typically faced by apple flies. This exposure induced a significant genetic response at six allozyme loci in surviving hawthorn fly adults toward allele frequencies found in the apple race. The sensitivity of hawthorn fly pupae to extended periods of warm weather therefore selects against hawthorn flies that infest apples and helps to maintain the genetic integrity of the apple race by counteracting gene flow from sympatric hawthorn populations. Our findings confirm that postzygotic reproductive isolation can evolve as a pleiotropic consequence of host-associated adaptation, a central tenet of nonallopatric speciation. They also suggest that one reason for the paucity of reported fitness trade-offs is a failure to consider adequately costs associated with coordinating an insect's life cycle with the phenology of its host plant.

Journal Article↗

Molecular identification of Anisakis species from Pleuronectiformes off the Portuguese coast.

Anisakid nematodes belonging to the Anisakis simplex complex are highly prevalent in several fish species off the coast of Portugal and are an important zoonotic problem in the Iberian Peninsula. Two reproductively isolated sibling species of the Anisakis simplex complex were identified from Pleuronectiformes inhabiting the Portuguese coast using restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). Recombinant genotypes corresponding to presumptive Anisakis simplex sensu stricto and Anisakis pegreffii hybrids were also detected by this technique, as well as the species Anisakis typica. Although 25 species of Pleuronectiformes were investigated, Anisakis spp. larvae were only found in seven: Arnoglossus imperialis, Arnoglossus laterna, Lepidorhombus boscii, Citharus linguatula, Platichthys flesus, Dicologlossa cuneata and Solea senegalensis. The occurrence of hybrids in relatively sedentary fishes such as the Pleuronectiformes suggests that the Portuguese coast may constitute an area of hybridization and, therefore, is of particular interest for the study of the process of hybridization and speciation for these anisakids.

Animals↗

Short tandem repeat (STR) variation in eight village populations of the island of Korcula (Croatia).

The aim of this study was to analyse short tandem repeat (STR) variation using the data on nine loci (D3S1358, vWA, FGA, THO1, TPOX, CSF1PO, D5S818, D13S317, D7S820) in the populations from eight villages on the island of Korcula, Croatia, in order to analyse its genetic and population structure. The analysis of STR data in this study indicated an appreciable degree of genetic homogeneity among the studied village populations on the island, even though a so-called 'east-west dichotomy' and differentiation between the inhabitants of the most recent settlement and the remaining ones was indicated with respect to the loci CSF1PO and TPOX, respectively. The validity of STR markers in assessing genetic structure of small populations and especially in determining the relationships among geographically closely related but reproductively isolated groups remains to be further evaluated, especially in terms of a larger number of studied loci in order to possibly find specific markers useful for resolving genetic patterns of variability at regional levels.

Croatia↗

Sero-genetic studies on the Dama of South West Africa.

The Dama of South West Africa are a Negroid people living as a reproductive isolate in the desert and semi-desert areas of the north-west of the country. Until recent times a large proportion of them were held in bondage by the Khoikhoi (Hottentot) Nama, while the rest lived as hunter-gatherers in the mountains. This study and the work of Knussmann and Knussmann indicate that they are a Negro people, which probably has been cut off over a period from contact with other Negroes. They have received very little genetic contribution from the Khoikhoi or the San (Bushmen). The results of this investigation of 24 blood genetic marker systems in a carefully selected random sample of Dama support these conclusions.

ABO Blood-Group System↗

Neural-tube defects in a prehistoric south-western Indian population.

Concern with the frequency and patterning of the occurrence of midline neural-tube defects among contemporary human populations is widespread. These defects are, however, quite old and occur in unusually high numbers of prehistoric skeletons. A common explanation offered for such high incidence has been inbreeding among small, reproductively isolated populations. In a sample of 54 skeletons from the prehistoric south-western Indian site of Tijeras Pueblo in New Mexico, failure of neural-tube closure occurs in 10% of sacra recovered. While a more homogeneous genetic background and inbreeding may account for a portion of this elevated prevalence, the cause appears to lie with cultural-environmental factors. It is suggested that the aetiology of these conditions has become more complex in recent human history.

Adolescent↗

Adaptive significance of the Indian caste system: an ecological perspective.

Indian society is an agglomeration of several thousand endogamous groups or castes each with a restricted geographical range and a hereditarily determined mode of subsistence. These reproductively isolated castes may be compared to biological species, and the society thought of as a biological community with each caste having its specific ecological niche. In this paper we examine the ecological-niche relationships of castes which are directly dependent on natural resources. Evidence is presented to show that castes living together in the same region had so organized their pattern of resource use as to avoid excessive intercaste competition for limiting resources. Furthermore, territorial division of the total range of the caste regulated intra-caste competition. Hence, a particular plant or animal resource in a given locality was used almost exclusively by a given lineage within a caste generation after generation. This favoured the cultural evolution of traditions ensuring sustainable use of natural resources. This must have contributed significantly to the stability of Indian caste society over several thousand years. The collapse of the base of natural resources and increasing monetarization of the economy has, however, destroyed the earlier complementarity between the different castes and led to increasing conflicts between them in recent years.

Adaptation, Biological↗

Analysis of color spectra in comparative evolutionary studies: molecular phylogeny and habitat adaptation in the St. Vincent Anole (Anolis trinitatis).

The use of color (as distinct from color pattern) in comparative evolutionary studies is important, and objective, independent characters are needed. A new method was employed to investigate geographic color variation in the small arboreal lizard Anolis trinitatis on the island of St. Vincent. The simple delta analysis (based on the difference between eigenvector coefficients for adjacent regions of the spectrum) is aimed at increasing the objectivity with which a spectrum is cut into independent segments and does not predetermine segment width or number. There are distinct habitat types within this small island and distinct phylogenetic lineages (based on a kilobase of cytochrome b sequence) within this species. A series of matrix correspondence (Mantel) tests indicate that aspects of color are associated with habitat type (e.g., green dorsum in rain forest lizards), molecular phylogeny, or both. Hence, both adaptation by selection and historical processes are implicated as causes of geographic variation in color. The dewlap variation (e.g., strong ultraviolet reflectance in some Atlantic coastal sites) is very pronounced and, contrary to some expectations, may result in reproductive isolation even within small Lesser Antillean islands.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

Evidence for the horizontal acquisition of murine AKR virogenes by recent horizontal infection of the germ line.

Several recent reports (8, 10, 11, 13) have established the biological and molecular genetic similarity between the endogenous AKV virus of strain AKR, and an N-ecotropic endogenous virus found in the genome of feral Japanese mice, Mus musculus molossinus. The similarities are so striking as to suggest a common origin of these viruses, which are present in some, but not all, inbred mouse strains. The virogenes of AKR mice may have been acquired by either: (a) common descent of AKR (and other AKV(+) strains) from a common ancestor of AKR and molossinus animals, or (b) horizontal germ line infection of the AKR strains by molossinus virus at 1;he strain's inception followed by fixation through inbreeding. The sexual descent model carries with it a prediction of relative consanguinity of the AKR strain and molossinus, whereas the horizontal infection model does not. We have examined the polymorphic allozyme (allelic isozyme) genotype of 51 nonvirus-related loci in 17 strains of mice including AKR, C58, BALB/c, Swiss, and molossinus. By comparing the composite allozyme genotype of different inbred and outbred mouse strains, the "genetic distance" statistic was derived. Genetic distance measures the degree of allelic substitution between populations and increases proportionately with the amount of time the populations have been reproductively isolated. The genetic distance computed between molossinus and AKR is large, nearly 5-10 times the distance between known related populations and strains (e.g., C57L vs. C57BL/6). Molossinus had a similarly large distance from AKV negative strains (Swiss, C57L) as it did from AKV- positive strains. Cellular DNA sequences that flank the integrated AKV provirus were analyzed by restriction enzyme digestion of liver DNA from molossinus, AKR, and additional inbred strains that express ecotropic murine leukemia virus. The integration flanks of three AKR provirus sequences, Akv-1, Akv-2, and a third uncharacterized sequence, were not evident in molossinus cell DNA, which contained at least six different proviral integration fragments. These data effectively exclude the interpretation of consanguinity of AKR and molossinus and support the notion of acquisition of the endogenous virus in AKR by horizontal infection of the molossinus virus.

AKR murine leukemia virus↗

Allozyme Variation and Genetic Relationships among Species of Cimicifuga (Ranunculaceae) from Korea.

Allozyme investigation of the five Cimicifuga taxa in Korea was conducted to assess genetic and clonal diversity within populations and genetic divergence among populations and taxa. Levels of allozyme variation maintained in Korean Cimicifuga taxa were comparable to those for most herbaceous perennials. In general, samples excluding copies of the same multilocus genotype maintained higher levels of genetic diversity than the total samples within populations. Copies of homozygous genotypes at several loci resulting from clonal spread lead to decreased levels of genetic diversity within populations, indicating that clonal reproduction found in Cimicifuga affects population genetic structure. In general, more widely distributed species such as C. dahurica and C. japonica harbored higher levels of allozyme diversity than the other taxa examined. Although two varieties of C. heracleifolia are geographically and reproductively isolated, the genetic and clonal structure of var. bifida seems to resemble var. heracleifolia, indicating that the two varieties may have had a similar evolutionary history. However, the allozyme data strongly indicate that the two morphological types (Groups I and II) of C. simplex should be treated as separate species.

Journal Article↗

Differences in visual signal design and detectability between allopatric populations of anolis lizards.

We tested the prediction of the sensory drive hypothesis using four allopatric populations of the lizard Anolis cristatellus from two distinct environments (i.e., mesic and xeric conditions). For each population, we measured habitat light characteristics and quantified signal design by measuring the spectral and total reflectance and transmittance of the dewlap. We used these data to calculate dewlap detectability using an empirically based model of signal detection probability. We found that populations from mesic and xeric conditions occupy two distinct habitats with respect to light intensity and spectral quality and that dewlap design has diverged between populations in a way that increases signal detectability in each habitat. The major difference in dewlap design was in total reflectance and transmittance, making dewlaps from xeric habitats darker and dewlaps from mesic habitats brighter. Furthermore, dewlap detection decreased significantly when a dewlap from a xeric habitat is detected under the spectral conditions of a mesic habitat. The converse is true for a dewlap from a mesic habitat. We propose that sensory drive has promoted divergence in dewlap design in distinct habitat light conditions, and we discuss the possibility that selection might promote early stages of reproductive isolation as a by-product of selection on dewlap design to distinct habitat light conditions.

Animal Communication↗

Concerted evolution of repetitive DNA sequences in eukaryotes.

A large fraction, sometimes the largest fraction, of a eukaryotic genome consists of repeated DNA sequences. Copy numbers range from several thousand to millions per diploid genome. All classes of repetitive DNA sequences examined to date exhibit apparently general, but little studied, patterns of "concerted evolution." Historically, concerted evolution has been defined as the nonindependent evolution of repetitive DNA sequences, resulting in a sequence similarity of repeating units that is greater within than among species. This intraspecific homogenization of repetitive sequence arrays is said to take place via the poorly understood mechanisms of "molecular drive." The evolutionary population dynamics of molecular drive remains largely unstudied in natural populations, and thus the potential significance of these evolutionary dynamics for population differentiation is unknown. This review attempts to demonstrate the potential importance of the mechanisms responsible for concerted evolution in the differentiation of populations. It contends that any natural grouping that is characterized by reproductive isolation and limited gene flow is capable of exhibiting concerted evolution of repetitive DNA arrays. Such effects are known to occur in protein and RNA-coding repetitive sequences, as well as in so-called "junk DNA," and thus have important implications for the differentiation and discrimination of natural populations.

Amphibians↗

Environmental change, phenotypic plasticity, and genetic compensation.

When a species encounters novel environmental conditions, some phenotypic characters may develop differently than in the ancestral environment. Most environmental perturbations of development are likely to reduce fitness, and thus selection would usually be expected to favor genetic changes that restore the ancestral phenotype. I propose the term "genetic compensation" to refer to this form of adaptive evolution. Genetic compensation is a subset of genetic accommodation and the reverse of genetic assimilation. When genetic compensation has occurred along a spatial environmental gradient, the mean trait values of populations in different environments may be more similar in the field than when representatives of the same populations are raised in a common environment (i.e., countergradient variation). If compensation is complete, genetic divergence between populations may be cryptic, that is, not detectable in the field. Here I apply the concept of genetic compensation to three examples involving carotenoid-based sexual coloration and then use these and other examples to discuss the concept in a broader context. I show that genetic compensation may lead to a cryptic form of reproductive isolation between populations evolving in different environments, may explain some puzzling cases in which heritable traits exposed to strong directional selection fail to show the expected evolutionary response, and may complicate efforts to monitor populations for signs of environmental deterioration.

Animal Feed↗

The sorry state of F2 hybrids: consequences of rapid mitochondrial DNA evolution in allopatric populations.

Through the processes of natural selection and genetic drift, allopatric populations diverge genetically and may ultimately become reproductively incompatible. In cases of prezygotic reproductive isolation, candidate systems for speciation genes logically include genes involved in mate or gamete recognition. However, where only postzygotic isolation exists, candidate speciation genes could include any genes that affect hybrid performance. We hypothesize that because mitochondrial genes frequently evolve more rapidly than the nuclear genes with which they interact, interpopulation hybridization might be particularly disruptive to mitochondrial function. Understanding the potential impact of intergenomic (nuclear and mitochondrial) coadaptation on the evolution of allopatric populations of the intertidal copepod Tigriopus californicus has required a broadly integrative research program; here we present the results of experiments spanning the spectrum of biological organization in order to demonstrate the consequences of molecular evolution on physiological performance and organismal fitness. We suggest that disruption of mitochondrial function, known to result in a diverse set of human diseases, may frequently underlie reduced fitness in interpopulation and interspecies hybrids in animals.

Animals↗

HLA and mate choice in humans.

Evidence from studies in rodents suggests that mate selection is influenced by major-histocompatibility-complex haplotypes, with preferences for dissimilar partners. This study was initiated to determine whether avoidance of a mate with the same HLA haplotype as one's own might be occurring in the Hutterites, a North American reproductive isolate of European ancestry, notable for their large sibships, communal lifestyle, and limited number of five-locus HLA haplotypes (HLA-A, -B, -C, -DR, and -DQ). HLA haplotypes were known for 411 Hutterite couples. The number of couples expected to match for a haplotype was calculated in two ways: first, from population genotype frequencies, with account being taken of the nonrandom mating pattern with respect to colony lineages, and, second, from computer simulations using conservative founder assumptions and the exact genealogy of the 411 couples. We observed fewer matches for HLA haplotypes between spouses than expected (first method, P = .005; second method, P = .020-.067). Among couples who did match for a haplotype, the matched haplotype was inherited from the mother in 29 cases and from the father in 50 cases (P = .018). These results are consistent with the conclusion that Hutterite mate choice is influenced by HLA haplotypes, with an avoidance of spouses with haplotypes that are the same as one's own.

Adult↗