Dataset Information

Microsatellite markers for the Chameleon grasshopper (Kosciuscola tristis) (Orthoptera: Acrididae), an Australian Alpine Specialist.

ABSTRACT: A set of polymorphic loci was characterised using an enrichment library for the Australian alpine specialist, the chameleon grasshopper (Kosciuscola tristis), an atypical grasshopper known for its remarkable temperature-controlled colour change. The number of alleles per locus ranged from three to 20 and observed heterozygosity from 0.16 to 0.76. These are the first microsatellite markers for a non-endangered Australian alpine animal and will inform questions of gene flow across the sky islands of this unique and threatened region.

SUBMITTER: Umbers KD

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3472794 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Microsatellite markers for the Chameleon grasshopper (Kosciuscola tristis) (Orthoptera: Acrididae), an Australian Alpine Specialist.

Umbers Kate D L KDL Dennison Siobhan S Manahan Czarina A CA Blondin Laurence L Pagés Christine C Risterucci Ange-Marie AM Chapuis Marie-Pierre MP

International journal of molecular sciences 20120924 9

A set of polymorphic loci was characterised using an enrichment library for the Australian alpine specialist, the chameleon grasshopper (Kosciuscola tristis), an atypical grasshopper known for its remarkable temperature-controlled colour change. The number of alleles per locus ranged from three to 20 and observed heterozygosity from 0.16 to 0.76. These are the first microsatellite markers for a non-endangered Australian alpine animal and will inform questions of gene flow across the sky islands ...[more]

PMID: 23109902

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Mountain landscapes are topographically complex, creating discontinuous 'islands' of alpine and sub-alpine habitat with a dynamic history. Changing climatic conditions drive their expansion and contraction, leaving signatures on the genetic structure of their flora and fauna. Australia's high country covers a small, highly fragmented area. Although the area is thought to have experienced periods of relative continuity during Pleistocene glacial periods, small-scale studies suggest deep lineage divergence across low-elevation gaps. Using both DNA sequence data and microsatellite markers, we tested the hypothesis that genetic partitioning reflects observable geographic structuring across Australia's mainland high country, in the widespread alpine grasshopper Kosciuscola tristis (Sjösted). RESULTS:We found broadly congruent patterns of regional structure between the DNA sequence and microsatellite datasets, corresponding to strong divergence among isolated mountain regions. Small and isolated mountains in the south of the range were particularly distinct, with well-supported divergence corresponding to climate cycles during the late Pliocene and Pleistocene. We found mixed support, however, for divergence among other mountain regions. Interestingly, within areas of largely contiguous alpine and sub-alpine habitat around Mt Kosciuszko, microsatellite data suggested significant population structure, accompanied by a strong signature of isolation-by-distance. CONCLUSIONS:Consistent patterns of strong lineage divergence among different molecular datasets indicate genetic breaks between populations inhabiting geographically distinct mountain regions. Three primary phylogeographic groups were evident in the highly fragmented Victorian high country, while within-region structure detected with microsatellites may reflect more recent population isolation. Despite the small area of Australia's alpine and sub-alpine habitats, their low topographic relief and lack of extensive glaciation, divergence among populations was on the same scale as that detected in much more extensive Northern hemisphere mountain systems. The processes driving divergence in the Australian mountains might therefore differ from their Northern hemisphere counterparts.

Dataset Information

Microsatellite markers for the Chameleon grasshopper (Kosciuscola tristis) (Orthoptera: Acrididae), an Australian Alpine Specialist.

Publications

Microsatellite markers for the Chameleon grasshopper (Kosciuscola tristis) (Orthoptera: Acrididae), an Australian Alpine Specialist.

Similar Datasets

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