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Geography and major host evolutionary transitions shape the resource use of plant parasites.


ABSTRACT: The evolution of resource use in herbivores has been conceptualized as an analog of the theory of island biogeography, assuming that plant species are islands separated by phylogenetic distances. Despite its usefulness, this analogy has paradoxically led to neglecting real biogeographical processes in the study of macroevolutionary patterns of herbivore-plant interactions. Here we show that host use is mostly determined by the geographical cooccurrence of hosts and parasites in spider mites (Tetranychidae), a globally distributed group of plant parasites. Strikingly, geography accounts for most of the phylogenetic signal in host use by these parasites. Beyond geography, only evolutionary transitions among major plant lineages (i.e., gymnosperms, commelinids, and eudicots) shape resource use patterns in these herbivores. Still, even these barriers have been repeatedly overcome in evolutionary time, resulting in phylogenetically diverse parasite communities feeding on similar hosts. Therefore, our results imply that patterns of apparent evolutionary conservatism may largely be a byproduct of the geographic cooccurrence of hosts and parasites.

SUBMITTER: Calatayud J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5024629 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Geography and major host evolutionary transitions shape the resource use of plant parasites.

Calatayud Joaquín J   Hórreo José Luis JL   Madrigal-González Jaime J   Migeon Alain A   Rodríguez Miguel Á MÁ   Magalhães Sara S   Hortal Joaquín J  

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20160817 35


The evolution of resource use in herbivores has been conceptualized as an analog of the theory of island biogeography, assuming that plant species are islands separated by phylogenetic distances. Despite its usefulness, this analogy has paradoxically led to neglecting real biogeographical processes in the study of macroevolutionary patterns of herbivore-plant interactions. Here we show that host use is mostly determined by the geographical cooccurrence of hosts and parasites in spider mites (Tet  ...[more]

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