Dataset Information

A new butterfly species from south Russia revealed through chromosomal and molecular analysis of the Polyommatus (Agrodiaetus) damonides complex (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae).

ABSTRACT: Finding a new species is a rare event in easy-to-see and well-studied organisms like butterflies, especially if they inhabit well-explored areas such as the Western Palaearctic. However, even in this region, gaps in taxonomic knowledge still exist and here we report such a discovery. Using a combined analysis of chromosomal and molecular markers we demonstrate that Polyommatus blue populations from Daghestan (South Russia), previously identified as P. aserbeidschanus, represent in fact a new species which is described here as P. australorossicussp. n. We also show that the enigmatic Polyommatus damonides described as a form of Polyommatus damone and later considered as an entity similar to P. poseidon or P. ninae is conspecific with a taxon previously known as P. elbursicus. As a result of our study, we propose several taxonomic changes within the P. damonides species complex and suggest the following new combinations: P. damonides elbursicus Forster, 1956, comb. n. and P. damonides gilanensis Eckweiler, 2002, comb. n.

SUBMITTER: Lukhtanov VA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5740405 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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A new butterfly species from south Russia revealed through chromosomal and molecular analysis of the Polyommatus (Agrodiaetus) damonides complex (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae).

Lukhtanov Vladimir A VA Dantchenko Alexander V AV

Comparative cytogenetics 20171124 4

Finding a new species is a rare event in easy-to-see and well-studied organisms like butterflies, especially if they inhabit well-explored areas such as the Western Palaearctic. However, even in this region, gaps in taxonomic knowledge still exist and here we report such a discovery. Using a combined analysis of chromosomal and molecular markers we demonstrate that <i>Polyommatus</i> blue populations from Daghestan (South Russia), previously identified as <i>P. aserbeidschanus</i>, represent in ...[more]

PMID: 29302297

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Project description:BackgroundCurrent molecular phylogenetic studies of Lepidoptera and most other arthropods are predominantly based on mitochondrial genes and a limited number of nuclear genes. The nuclear genes, however, generally do not provide sufficient information for young radiations. ITS2 , which has proven to be an excellent nuclear marker for similarly aged radiations in other organisms like fungi and plants, is only rarely used for phylogeny estimation in arthropods, although universal primers exist. This is partly due to difficulties in the alignment of ITS2 sequences in more distant taxa. The present study uses ITS2 secondary structure information to elucidate the phylogeny of a species-rich young radiation of arthropods, the butterfly subgenus Agrodiaetus. One aim is to evaluate the efficiency of ITS2 to resolve the phylogeny of the subgenus in comparison with COI , the most important mitochondrial marker in arthropods. Furthermore, we assess the use of compensatory base changes in ITS2 for the delimitation of species and discuss the prospects of ITS2 as a nuclear marker for barcoding studies.ResultsIn the butterfly family Lycaenidae, ITS2 secondary structure enabled us to successfully align sequences of different subtribes in Polyommatini and produce a Profile Neighbour Joining tree of this tribe, the resolution of which is comparable to phylogenetic trees obtained with COI+COII . The subgenus Agrodiaetus comprises 6 major clades which are in agreement with COI analyses. A dispersal-vicariance analysis (DIVA) traced the origin of most Agrodiaetus clades to separate biogeographical areas in the region encompassing Eastern Anatolia, Transcaucasia and Iran.ConclusionsWith the inclusion of secondary structure information, ITS2 appears to be a suitable nuclear marker to infer the phylogeny of young radiations, as well as more distantly related genera within a diverse arthropod family. Its phylogenetic signal is comparable to the mitochondrial marker COI . Compensatory base changes are very rare within Polyommatini and cannot be used for species delimitation. The implementation of secondary structure information into character-based phylogenetic methods is suggested to further improve the versatility of this marker in phylogenetic studies.

Project description:BackgroundEvolutionary genetics provides a rich theoretical framework for empirical studies of phylogeography. Investigations of intraspecific genetic variation can uncover new putative species while allowing inference into the evolutionary origin and history of extant populations. With a distribution on four continents ranging throughout most of the Old World, Lampides boeticus (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) is one of the most widely distributed species of butterfly. It is placed in a monotypic genus with no commonly accepted subspecies. Here, we investigate the demographic history and taxonomic status of this widespread species, and screen for the presence or absence of the bacterial endosymbiont Wolbachia.ResultsWe performed phylogenetic, population genetic, and phylogeographic analyses using 1799 bp of mitochondrial sequence data from 57 specimens collected throughout the species' range. Most of the samples (>90%) were nearly genetically identical, with uncorrected pairwise sequence differences of 0-0.5% across geographic distances >9,000 km. However, five samples from central Thailand, Madagascar, northern Australia and the Moluccas formed two divergent clades differing from the majority of samples by uncorrected pairwise distances ranging from 1.79-2.21%. Phylogenetic analyses suggest that L. boeticus is almost certainly monophyletic, with all sampled genes coalescing well after the divergence from three closely related taxa included for outgroup comparisons. Analyses of molecular diversity indicate that most L. boeticus individuals in extant populations are descended from one or two relatively recent population bottlenecks.ConclusionThe combined analyses suggest a scenario in which the most recent common ancestor of L. boeticus and its sister taxon lived in the African region approximately 7 Mya; extant lineages of L. boeticus began spreading throughout the Old World at least 1.5 Mya. More recently, expansion after population bottlenecks approximately 1.4 Mya seem to have displaced most of the ancestral polymorphism throughout its range, though at least two early-branching lineages still persist. One of these lineages, in northern Australia and the Moluccas, may have experienced accelerated differentiation due to infection with the bacterial endosymbiont Wolbachia, which affects reproduction. Examination of a haplotype network suggests that Australia has been colonized by the species several times. While there is little evidence for the existence of morphologically cryptic species, these results suggest a complex history affected by repeated dispersal events.

Dataset Information

A new butterfly species from south Russia revealed through chromosomal and molecular analysis of the Polyommatus (Agrodiaetus) damonides complex (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae).

Publications

A new butterfly species from south Russia revealed through chromosomal and molecular analysis of the Polyommatus (Agrodiaetus) damonides complex (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae).

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