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Evidence for a time-integrated species-area effect on the latitudinal gradient in tree diversity.

The greater area of tropical forest biomes has been proposed as a factor that drives the latitudinal gradient in species diversity by modulating speciation and extinction rates. But speciation and extinction are processes that operate over millions of years, so an adequate test of area's contribution to diversity patterns must take into consideration that biome areas have changed through time in response to climate. Here we correlate estimates of current tree species diversity with a composite parameter integrating area over geological time for each continent's tropical, temperate, and boreal biomes. We find significant positive correlations between current tree diversity and area-time for periods since the Eocene, Oligocene, and Miocene, which we take as evidence for a time-integrated species-area effect on current patterns of species richness across biomes. These results contribute to explanations for why most lineages have tropical origins and why tropical forests are more diverse than extratropical forests.

Biodiversity↗

Comparison of Y chromosome and mtDNA phylogenies leads to unique inferences of macaque evolutionary history.

We report here the results of one of the first analyses to use male-specific nuclear markers in elucidating primate phylogenetic relationships at the intrageneric level. Two closely linked Y chromosome markers, TSPY and SRY, were sequenced for a total of 3100 bases. Forty-four macaques, representing 18 of the 19 recognized species, were sequenced for the full 3.1 kb, as was 1 individual from each of the following outgroup genera: Papio, Theropithecus, Mandrillus, Allenopithecus,Cercopithecus, Trachypithecus, Presbytis, and Homo. In contrast to recent mtDNA phylogenies, Y chromosome loci support four monophyletic species groups, including a sinica group containing M. arctoides-a classification largely congruent with those of Fooden and Delson. Comparison of mtDNA and Y chromosome phylogenies highlight (1) a potential hybrid origin of Macaca arctoides from M. fascicularis and proto-M. assamensis/thibetana and (2) cases of mitochondrial paraphyly in macaque species whose Y chromosome lineages are monophyletic-a probable evolutionary consequence of philopatric females vs dispersing males. These results raise the question of whether a phylogenetic tree should be a topology of species origins or a depiction of more current species relationships, including subsequent episodes of introgression.

Animals↗

Synonymous and nonsynonymous rate variation in nuclear genes of mammals.

A maximum likelihood approach was used to estimate the synonymous and nonsynonymous substitution rates in 48 nuclear genes from primates, artiodactyls, and rodents. A codon-substitution model was assumed, which accounts for the genetic code structure, transition/transversion bias, and base frequency biases at codon positions. Likelihood ratio tests were applied to test the constancy of nonsynonymous to synonymous rate ratios among branches (evolutionary lineages). It is found that at 22 of the 48 nuclear loci examined, the nonsynonymous/synonymous rate ratio varies significantly across branches of the tree. The result provides strong evidence against a strictly neutral model of molecular evolution. Our likelihood estimates of synonymous and nonsynonymous rates differ considerably from previous results obtained from approximate pairwise sequence comparisons. The differences between the methods are explored by detailed analyses of data from several genes. Transition/transversion rate bias and codon frequency biases are found to have significant effects on the estimation of synonymous and nonsynonymous rates, and approximate methods do not adequately account for those factors. The likelihood approach is preferable, even for pairwise sequence comparison, because more realistic models about the mutation and substitution processes can be incorporated in the analysis.

Animals↗

Mitochondrial DNA phylogeny and the evolution of host-plant use in palearctic Chrysolina (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae) leaf beetles.

The genus Chrysolina consists of specialized phytophagous leaf-beetles (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae) with feed on several plant families. There is no explicit phylogenetic hypothesis available for this genus, which includes 65 subgenera and more than 400 species with a wide distribution. We obtained 839-bp sequence data from the 16S rDNA and cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) mitochondrial genes. Thirty Chrysolina taxa representing eight host-plant affiliations, two species of the closely related genus Oreina, and two outgroups were sampled. These data sets were used separately and combined to obtain the mitochondrial cladogram of the group using maximum-parsimony and maximum-likelihood criteria. The results were compared to current proposals for Chrysolina systematics that are based on morphological, ecological, and karyological data. The trees obtained were in the most part congruent with the proposed ancestral association of Chrysolina to Lamiaceae based on chromosome number in several lineages. A minimum of five host-plant switches from the ancestral state inferred at the family level and two at the subclass level suggests the absence of parallel evolution of beetles and their host plants. Another switch leading to oligophagy at the family level was deduced to have occurred in the lineage of the subgenus Chrysolina s.str.

Animals↗

Early evolution and the origin of eukaryotes.

Our understanding of evolutionary relationships in the eukaryotic world has been revolutionized by molecular systematics. Phylogenies based upon comparisons of rRNAs define five major eukaryotic assemblages plus a series of paraphyletic protist lineages. Comparison of conserved genes that were duplicated prior to the divergence of eubacteria, archaebacteria, and eukaryotes, positions the root of the universal tree within the eubacterial line of descent. In this review a novel model is presented which uses the rRNA and protein based phylogenies to describe the evolutionary origins of eukaryotes.

Animal Population Groups↗

Evolutionary analysis of influenza C virus M genes.

The previous study of the 25 hemagglutinin-esterase (HE) glycoprotein genes of influenza C viruses identified four discrete lineages represented by C/Yamagata/26/81, C/Aichi/1/81, C/Aomori/74 and C/Mississippi/80, respectively. Here we compared the M gene sequence among the 24 viruses isolated between 1964 and 1991. A phylogenetic analysis showed that these genes have evolved into three distinct lineages. Lineage I included most of viruses with the HE genes of C/Yamagata/26/81-related lineage. The predominant members of lineage II were viruses having the HE genes of either C/Aichi/1/81- or C/Mississippi/80-related lineage. Lineage III contained only C/Aomori/74. Phylogenetic positions of several strains (C/Yamagata/64, C/Kanagawa/1/76, C/Miyagi/77 and C/Nara/1/85) were different between the M and HE gene trees, suggesting that they are reassortants. Furthermore, phylogenetic relationships between C/Mississippi/80-like and C/Aichi/1/81-like viruses were much closer for the M gene than the HE gene, raising the possibility that these two virus groups are genetically related by a reassortment event. Nucleotide changes in the M genes occurred at about 7% positions with a uniform distribution throughout the molecules. However, the predicted amino acid sequence of the matrix protein (M1) was conserved almost completely among the isolates analyzed. The amino acid sequence of the second protein (CM2) encoded by M gene was also highly conserved, but was more divergent than the M1 protein sequence, suggesting that the two M gene products are evolving differently in response to selective pressures or structural and functional constraints.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

The earliest known eutherian mammal.

The skeleton of a eutherian (placental) mammal has been discovered from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of northeastern China. We estimate its age to be about 125 million years (Myr), extending the date of the oldest eutherian records with skull and skeleton by about 40 50 Myr. Our analyses place the new fossil at the root of the eutherian tree and among the four other known Early Cretaceous eutherians, and suggest an earlier and greater diversification of stem eutherians that occurred well before the molecular estimate for the diversification of extant placental superorders (104 64 Myr). The new eutherian has limb and foot features that are known only from scansorial (climbing) and arboreal (tree-living) extant mammals, in contrast to the terrestrial or cursorial (running) features of other Cretaceous eutherians. This suggests that the earliest eutherian lineages developed different locomotory adaptations, facilitating their spread to diverse niches in the Cretaceous.

Animals↗

Chloroplast DNA phylogeography of the arctic-montane species Saxifraga hirculus (Saxifragaceae).

The genetic structure of populations of an arctic-montane herb, Saxifraga hirculus (Saxifragaceae), was analysed by means of chloroplast restriction fragment-length polymorphism. Sampled populations were distributed across Europe and North America (Alaska and Colorado). There was no evidence for geographically structured genetically divergent lineages, and although no haplotypes were shared between North America and Europe, the haplotypes from different continents were intermixed on a minimum spanning tree. European populations were much more highly differentiated and had much lower levels of haplotype diversity than their Alaskan counterparts. Centres of haplotype diversity were concentrated in those Alaskan populations located outside the limits of the last (Wisconsin) glaciation, suggesting that they may have acted as refugia during the Pleistocene. It was not possible to identify putative migration routes or corresponding refugia in the European genepool. One British population, from the Pentland Hills, was genetically very distant from all the others, for reasons that are as yet unknown.

Alaska↗

Phylogeny and ecological radiation of New World thistles (Cirsium, Cardueae - Compositae) based on ITS and ETS rDNA sequence data.

Sequence data from a portion of the external transcribed spacer (ETS) and internal transcribed spacers (ITS-1 and ITS-2) of 18S-26S nuclear ribosomal DNA were used to resolve historical biogeography and ecology of true thistles (Cirsium, Cardueae, Compositae) in the New World. The 650 base-pair, 3' portion of the ETS examined here showed a level of variation across taxa similar to that of the ITS sequences included. A maximum-likelihood tree based on combined ETS and ITS sequences leads us to suggest that the New World species of true thistles constitute a major lineage, which in turn comprises several smaller lineages. A western North American lineage shows weak quartet-puzzling support, but includes a well-supported lineage of species endemic to the California Floristic Province. Comparisons of this Californian lineage with other neoendemic angiosperm groups of the region show that the Californian Cirsium lineage exhibits unusually high ecological diversity for a group displaying such low levels of rDNA sequence divergence across taxa. Similarly low levels of sequence divergence were found throughout the New World Cirsium lineage. These results indicate either that Cirsium underwent a rapid ecological radiation in North America, or that rDNA evolution in North American Cirsium has been highly conservative.

Cirsium↗

A mitogenomic timescale for birds detects variable phylogenetic rates of molecular evolution and refutes the standard molecular clock.

Current understanding of the diversification of birds is hindered by their incomplete fossil record and uncertainty in phylogenetic relationships and phylogenetic rates of molecular evolution. Here we performed the first comprehensive analysis of mitogenomic data of 48 vertebrates, including 35 birds, to derive a Bayesian timescale for avian evolution and to estimate rates of DNA evolution. Our approach used multiple fossil time constraints scattered throughout the phylogenetic tree and accounts for uncertainties in time constraints, branch lengths, and heterogeneity of rates of DNA evolution. We estimated that the major vertebrate lineages originated in the Permian; the 95% credible intervals of our estimated ages of the origin of archosaurs (258 MYA), the amniote-amphibian split (356 MYA), and the archosaur-lizard divergence (278 MYA) bracket estimates from the fossil record. The origin of modern orders of birds was estimated to have occurred throughout the Cretaceous beginning about 139 MYA, arguing against a cataclysmic extinction of lineages at the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary. We identified fossils that are useful as time constraints within vertebrates. Our timescale reveals that rates of molecular evolution vary across genes and among taxa through time, thereby refuting the widely used mitogenomic or cytochrome b molecular clock in birds. Moreover, the 5-Myr divergence time assumed between 2 genera of geese (Branta and Anser) to originally calibrate the standard mitochondrial clock rate of 0.01 substitutions per site per lineage per Myr (s/s/l/Myr) in birds was shown to be underestimated by about 9.5 Myr. Phylogenetic rates in birds vary between 0.0009 and 0.012 s/s/l/Myr, indicating that many phylogenetic splits among avian taxa also have been underestimated and need to be revised. We found no support for the hypothesis that the molecular clock in birds "ticks" according to a constant rate of substitution per unit of mass-specific metabolic energy rather than per unit of time, as recently suggested. Our analysis advances knowledge of rates of DNA evolution across birds and other vertebrates and will, therefore, aid comparative biology studies that seek to infer the origin and timing of major adaptive shifts in vertebrates.

Animals↗

Diversification and host switching in avian malaria parasites.

The switching of parasitic organisms to novel hosts, in which they may cause the emergence of new diseases, is of great concern to human health and the management of wild and domesticated populations of animals. We used a phylogenetic approach to develop a better statistical assessment of host switching in a large sample of vector-borne malaria parasites of birds (Plasmodium and Haemoproteus) over their history of parasite-host relations. Even with sparse sampling, the number of parasite lineages was almost equal to the number of avian hosts. We found that strongly supported sister lineages of parasites, averaging 1.2% sequence divergence, exhibited highly significant host and geographical fidelity. Event-based matching of host and parasite phylogenetic trees revealed significant cospeciation. However, the accumulated effects of host switching and long distance dispersal cause these signals to disappear before 4% sequence divergence is achieved. Mitochondrial DNA nucleotide substitution appears to occur about three times faster in hosts than in parasites, contrary to findings on other parasite-host systems. Using this mutual calibration, the phylogenies of the parasites and their hosts appear to be similar in age, suggesting that avian malaria parasites diversified along with their modern avian hosts. Although host switching has been a prominent feature over the evolutionary history of avian malaria parasites, it is infrequent and unpredictable on time scales germane to public health and wildlife management.

Animals↗

Phylum-specific environmental DNA analysis reveals remarkably high global biodiversity of Cercozoa (Protozoa).

This study presents the first 18S rRNA multi-library environmental PCR survey of a single protozoan phylum, Cercozoa Cavalier-Smith 1998, from a range of different habitats. Phylogenetic analysis reveals at least nine novel clades within the phylum, several possibly at the level of order or above. Further experiments are described to ascertain the true ecological and geographical distributions of some clades that might be inferred from the tree to be restricted in either or both ways. These results suggest that the diversity of cercozoan taxa may run into thousands of lineages, making it comparable in diversity to the largest better-characterized protozoan phyla, e.g. Ciliophora (ciliates and suctorians) and Foraminifera. New sequences of cultured Spongomonas, Metromonas and Metopion are also presented. In the light of these additions, and the increased taxon sampling from the environmental libraries, some revisions of cercozoan classification are made: the transfer of Spongomonadea from Reticulofilosa to Monadofilosa; the removal of Metopiida from Sarcomonadea; and the creation of the new order Metromonadida, currently containing the single genus Metromonas. Although Metromonas groups with weak to moderate support with Chlorarachnea, it is here placed in superclass Monadofilosa, to which it is morphologically more similar.

Animals↗

Transcript levels of the eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5A gene peak at early G(1) phase of the cell cycle in the dinoflagellate Crypthecodinium cohnii.

A cDNA encoding a eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5A (eIF-5A) homolog in heterotrophic dinoflagellate Crypthecodinium cohnii (CceIF-5A) was isolated through random sequencing of a cDNA library. The predicted amino acid sequence possesses the 12 strictly conserved amino acids around lysine 52 (equivalent to lysine 50 or 51 in other eukaryotes). A single 1.2-kb band was detected in Northern blot analysis. In synchronized C. cohnii cells, the transcript level peaked at early G(1) and decreased dramatically on the entry to S phase. Although this has not been previously reported, studies of budding yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and certain mammalian cell types suggest a role for eIF-5A in the G(1)/S transition of the eukaryotic cell cycle. Phylogenetic trees constructed with 26 other published eIF-5A sequences suggest that CceIF-5A, while falling within the eukaryotic branches, forms a lineage separate from those of the plants, animals, and archaebacteria. The posttranslational modification of eIF-5A by a transfer of a 4-aminobutyl moiety from spermidine to conserved lysine 50 or 51, forming amino acid hypusine, is the only demonstrated specific function of polyamines in cell proliferation. It has been suggested that polyamines stimulate population growth of bloom-forming dinoflagellates in the sea. We demonstrate here putrescine-stimulated cell proliferation. Furthermore, ornithine decarboxylase inhibitor D-difluoromethylornithine and the specific hypusination inhibitor N-guanyl-1,7-diaminoheptane exhibited inhibitory effects in two species of dinoflagellates. The possible links of polyamines and saxitoxin synthesis to the arginine cycle are also discussed.

Animals↗

Mitochondrial DNA control-region and coding-region data highlight geographically structured diversity and post-domestication population dynamics in worldwide donkeys.

Donkeys (Equus asinus) have been used extensively in agriculture and transportations since their domestication, ca. 5000-7000 years ago, but the increased mechanization of the last century has largely spoiled their role as burden animals, particularly in developed countries. Consequently, donkey breeds and population sizes have been declining for decades, and the diversity contributed by autochthonous gene pools has been eroded. Here, we examined coding-region data extracted from 164 complete mitogenomes and 1392 donkey mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control-region sequences to (i) assess worldwide diversity, (ii) evaluate geographical patterns of variation, and (iii) provide a new nomenclature of mtDNA haplogroups. The topology of the Maximum Parsimony tree confirmed the two previously identified major clades, i.e. Clades 1 and 2, but also highlighted the occurrence of a deep-diverging lineage within Clade 2 that left a marginal trace in modern donkeys. Thanks to the identification of stable and highly diagnostic coding-region mutational motifs, the two lineages were renamed as haplogroup A and haplogroup B, respectively, to harmonize clade nomenclature with the standard currently adopted for other livestock species. Control-region diversity and population expansion metrics varied considerably between geographical areas but confirmed North-eastern Africa as the likely domestication center. The patterns of geographical distribution of variation analyzed through phylogenetic networks and AMOVA confirmed the co-occurrence of both haplogroups in all sampled populations, while differences at the regional level point to the joint effects of demography, past human migrations and trade following the spread of donkeys out of the domestication center. Despite the strong decline that donkey populations have undergone for decades in many areas of the world, the sizeable mtDNA variability we scored, and the possible identification of a new early radiating lineage further stress the need for an extensive and large-scale characterization of donkey nuclear genome diversity to identify hotspots of variation and aid the conservation of local breeds worldwide.

Animals↗

The phylogenetic position of aardvark (Orycteropus afer) as suggested by its myoglobin.

Skeletal muscle myoglobin of the aardvark (Orycteropus afer) was isolated and its primary structure determined. The amino-acid sequence was then used in conjunction with previously established myoglobin sequences to evaluate the phylogenetic relationships of the aardvark. The most parsimonious trees constructed from this myoglobin sequence data either alone or when combined with lens alpha-crystallin A sequence data depict the aardvark lineage as one of the most ancient among Eutheria.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Xenopus laevis peripherin (XIF3) is expressed in radial glia and proliferating neural epithelial cells as well as in neurons.

Neuronal intermediate filament (nIF) proteins form the most abundant component of the axonal cytoskeleton. Thus, understanding their function and the regulation of their expression is essential for comprehending how axonal structure is regulated. Although most vertebrate nIF proteins are classified as type IV intermediate filament (IF) proteins, additional nIF proteins exist in frogs (Xenopus laevis), cyprinid fishes, and mammals (called XIF3, plasticin, and peripherin, respectively) that are classified as type III. Expression of a type III nIF protein is correlated strongly with the earliest phases of axonal outgrowth in fishes but less so in mammals. To understand better how the correlation between type III nIF protein expression and early phases of axonal outgrowth has changed during evolution, the authors examined XIF3 expression in Xenopus laevis. In Xenopus, the association between XIF3 expression and early axonal outgrowth was especially strong. For example, during early axonal development, XIF3 expression preceded and was more abundant and widespread than that of any of the type IV nIF proteins. As axons matured, neuronal expression of XIF3 gradually became more restricted while that of type IV nIF proteins increased. These results support the idea that type III nIF proteins play a special role during early phases of axonal outgrowth. In addition to finding XIF3 in neurons, the authors also unexpectedly found it in regions of the central nervous system that contain proliferating cells and radial glia. As a framework for interpreting variations in nIF expression in different vertebrate species, the authors built phylogenetic trees to clarify relationships among vertebrate nIF proteins. These trees supported the classification of XIF3, plasticin, and peripherin as orthologs (products of the same genetic locus, evolving separately only since the species lineages diverged). Thus, XIF3, plasticin, and peripherin probably should be referred to as Xenopus, fish, and mammalian peripherin, respectively. This finding argues that differences in expression of these three proteins in frogs, fishes, and mammals are the result of regulatory changes to the peripherin ancestral gene along each lineage. The expression of a peripherin ortholog in Xenopus glia may represent either an adaptation that arose since the divergence of Xenopus from mammals or, alternatively, a feature retained from an ancestral IF protein that was expressed originally both in neurons and in glia.

Age Factors↗

The evolutionary history of quorum-sensing systems in bacteria.

Communication among bacterial cells through quorum-sensing (QS) systems is used to regulate ecologically and medically important traits, including virulence to hosts. QS is widespread in bacteria; it has been demonstrated experimentally in diverse phylogenetic groups, and homologs to the implicated genes have been discovered in a large proportion of sequenced bacterial genomes. The widespread distribution of the underlying gene families (LuxI/R and LuxS) raises the questions of how often QS genes have been transferred among bacterial lineages and the extent to which genes in the same QS system exchange partners or coevolve. Phylogenetic analyses of the relevant gene families show that the genes annotated as LuxI/R inducer and receptor elements comprise two families with virtually no homology between them and with one family restricted to the gamma-Proteobacteria and the other more widely distributed. Within bacterial phyla, trees for the LuxS and the two LuxI/R families show broad agreement with the ribosomal RNA tree, suggesting that these systems have been continually present during the evolution of groups such as the Proteobacteria and the Firmicutes. However, lateral transfer can be inferred for some genes (e.g., from Firmicutes to some distantly related lineages for LuxS). In general, the inducer/receptor elements in the LuxI/R systems have evolved together with little exchange of partners, although loss or replacement of partners has occurred in several lineages of gamma-Proteobacteria, the group for which sampling is most intensive in current databases. For instance, in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a transferred QS system has been incorporated into the pathway of a native one. Gene phylogenies for the main LuxI/R family in Pseudomonas species imply a complex history of lateral transfer, ancestral duplication, and gene loss within the genus.

Bacteria↗

Effect of honeybee broods (queen-bee different lineage) moving on disease development at various beehive types and allergy reaction cause in humans.

The change of the location of the beehives on the diverse honeyfull pastures is the usual apiarists activity in the Republic of Croatia. The main reasons are the climatic and vegetation diversity, and richness of the floral composition, with numerous bee forage plants. Our study aimed to detect consequences of honeybee broods (Queen-bee of different lineage) moving, from one habitat to another at various type of beehives. The Alberti-Znidersic (AZ), Langstroth-Root (LR) and Dadant-Blatt (DB) beehive types, constructed of (lime-tree), have been used. After the bee forage on the Oilseed Rape in the beginning of April, the honeybee brood has been veterinary inspected (based on the Law of animal health protection in the Republic of Croatia) for varrosis, nosemosis and American foulbrood diseases. The same procedure was done after bee forage (False acacia) at the end of May. All of the honeybees belong to the European race Apis mellifera carnica. The results of the study pointed out that different beehive types and the Queen-bee lineage (natural and selected) affect development of disease inside the honeybee brood, during the relocation and change from one dominant bee forage plants to another. Certain allergy reactions occurring in people can be caused by the pollen of some honefull plants such as birch, grasses, ragweed, goldenrod and hazel. Such cases are also included in our investigations. Beekeepers and nature lovers sensitive to pollen allergens of some honeyfull plants should, in some calendar period, avoid ecological milieu with such plants.

Allergens↗