scholarly journals Unexpected diversity in the host-generalist oribatid mite Paraleius leontonychus (Oribatida, Scheloribatidae) phoretic on Palearctic bark beetles

PeerJ ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. e9710
Author(s):  
Sylvia Schäffer ◽  
Stephan Koblmüller

Bark beetles are feared as pests in forestry but they also support a large number of other taxa that exploit the beetles and their galleries. Among arthropods, mites are the largest taxon associated with bark beetles. Many of these mites are phoretic and often involved in complex interactions with the beetles and other organisms. Within the oribatid mite family Scheloribatidae, only two of the three nominal species of Paraleius have been frequently found in galleries of bark beetles and on the beetles themselves. One of the species, P. leontonychus, has a wide distribution range spanning over three ecozones of the world and is believed to be a host generalist, reported from numerous bark beetle and tree species. In the present study, phylogenetic analyses of one mitochondrial and two nuclear genes identified six well supported, fairly divergent clades within P. leontonychus which we consider to represent distinct species based on molecular species delimitation methods and largely congruent clustering in mitochondrial and nuclear gene trees. These species do not tend to be strictly host specific and might occur syntopically. Moreover, mito-nuclear discordance indicates a case of past hybridization/introgression among distinct Paraleius species, the first case of interspecific hybridization reported in mites other than ticks.

MycoKeys ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 50 ◽  
pp. 93-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wang HuiMin ◽  
Zheng Wang ◽  
Fu Liu ◽  
Cheng Xu Wu ◽  
Su Fang Zhang ◽  
...  

Bark beetles and their associated fungi, which cause forest decline and sometimes high mortality in large areas around the world, are of increasing concern in terms of forest health. ThreeTomicusspp. (T.brevipilosus,T.minorandT.yunnanensis) infect branches and trunks ofPinusyunnanensisandP.kesiyain Yunnan Province, in south-western China.Tomicusspp. are well known as vectors of ophiostomatoid fungi and their co-occurrence could result in serious ecological and economic impact on local forest ecosystems. Nonetheless, knowledge about their diversity, ecology, including pathogenicity and potential economic importance is still quite rudimentary. Therefore, an extensive survey of ophiostomatoid fungi associated with theseTomicusspecies infestingP.yunnanensisandP.kesiyawas carried out in Yunnan. Seven hundred and seventy-two strains of ophiostomatoid fungi were isolated from the adult beetles and their galleries. The strains were identified based on comparisons of multiple DNA sequences, including the nuclear ribosomal large subunit (LSU) region, the internal transcribed spacer regions 1 and 2, together with the intervening 5.8S gene (ITS) and the partial genes of β-tubulin (TUB2), elongation factor 1α (TEF1-α) and calmodulin (CAL). Phylogenetic analyses were performed using maximum parsimony (MP) as well as maximum likelihood (ML). Combinations of culture features, morphological characters and temperature-dependent growth rates were also employed for species identification. Eleven species belonging to five genera were identified. These included six known species,Esteyavermicola,Leptographiumyunnanense,Ophiostomabrevipilosi,O.canum,O.minusandO.tingensand four novel taxa, described asGraphilbumanningense,O.aggregatum,SporothrixpseudoabietinaandS.macroconidia. A residual strain was left unidentified asOphiostomasp. 1. The overall ophiostomatoid community was by far dominated by three species, representing 87.3% of the total isolates; in decreasing order, these wereO.canum,O.brevipilosiandO.minus. Furthermore, the ophiostomatoid community of each beetle, although harbouring a diversity of ophiostomatoid species, was differentially dominated by a single fungal species;Ophiostomacanumwas preferentially associated with and dominated the ophiostomatoid community ofT.minor, whereasO.brevipilosiandO.minuswere exclusively associated with and dominated the ophiostomatoid communities ofT.brevipilosusandT.yunnanensis, respectively. Eight additional species, representing the remaining 12.7% of the total isolates, were marginal or sporadic. These results suggested that sympatricTomicuspopulations are dominated by distinct species showing some level of specificity or even exclusivity.


2012 ◽  
Vol 279 (1742) ◽  
pp. 3377-3383 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Ivalú Cacho ◽  
David A. Baum

A ring species arises when a parental population expands around an area of unsuitable habitat in such a way that when the two fronts meet they behave as distinct species while still being connected through a series of intergrading populations. Ring species offer great possibilities for studying the forces causing species divergence (e.g. the nature of pre-zygotic or post-zygotic reproductive isolation) or helping to maintain species integrity (e.g. reinforcement). Yet, ring species are extremely rare, and have only been documented convincingly in animals. Here, we present phylogenetic analyses of two nuclear gene regions from the Caribbean slipper spurge ( Euphorbia tithymaloides ) species complex that provide evidence that this group forms a ring species. These data show that the species complex originated in the area where Mexico and Guatemala meet, and expanded around the Caribbean basin along two distinct fronts: one eastward through the Yucatan Peninsula and into the Greater Antilles (GA); one southeastward through northern South America and then northward to the Lesser Antilles and eastern GA. The two terminal forms co-occur in the Virgin Islands and appear to be morphologically and ecologically distinct. Thus, our results suggest that Euphorbia tithymaloides is the first compelling example of a ring species in plants.


2016 ◽  
Vol 91 (3) ◽  
pp. 332-345 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Blasco-Costa ◽  
R. Poulin ◽  
B. Presswell

AbstractAmong eyeflukes, Tylodelphys Diesing, 1850 includes diverse species able to infect the eyes, but also the brain, pericardial sac and body cavity of their second intermediate host. While the genus shows a cosmopolitan distribution with 29 nominal species in Africa, Asia, Europe and America, a likely lower research effort has produced two records only for all of Australasia. This study provides the first description of a species of Tylodelphys and the first record for a member of the Diplostomidae in New Zealand. Tylodephys sp. metacercaria from the eyes of Gobiomorphus cotidianus McDowall, 1975 is distinguished from its congeners as being larger in all, or nearly all, metrics than Tylodelphys clavata (von Nordmann, 1832), T. conifera (Mehlis, 1846) and T. scheuringi (Hughes, 1929); whereas T. podicipina Kozicka & Niewiadomska, 1960 is larger in body size, ventral sucker and holdfast sizes and T. ophthalmi (Pandey, 1970) has comparatively a very small pharynx and body spination. Tylodelphys sp. exhibits consistent genetic variation for the 28S rDNA, internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and Cox1 genes, and phylogenetic analyses confirm that it represents an independent lineage, closely related to North American species. Morphological and molecular results together support the distinct species status of Tylodephys sp. metacercaria, the formal description and naming of which await discovery of the adult. Furthermore, the validity of T. strigicola Odening, 1962 is restored, T. cerebralis Chakrabarti, 1968 is proposed as major synonym of T. ophthalmi, and species described solely on the basis of metacercariae are considered incertae sedis, except those for which molecular data already exist.


Nematology ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 699-711 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Mullin ◽  
Timothy Harris ◽  
Thomas Powers

AbstractThe systematic position of Campydora Cobb, 1920, which possesses many unique morphological features, especially in pharyngeal structure and stomatal armature, has long been a matter of uncertainty with the 'position of the Campydorinae' (containing only Campydora) being questionable. A review of the morphology of C. demonstrans, the only nominal species of Campydora concluded that the species warranted placement as the sole member of a monotypic suborder, Campydorina, in the order Dorylaimida. Others placed Campydorina in the order Enoplida. We conducted phylogenetic analyses, using 18s small subunit ribosomal DNA sequences generated from a number of taxa in the subclasses Enoplia and Dorylaimia, to evaluate these competing hypotheses. Although precise taxonomic placement of the genus Campydora and the identity of its closest living relatives is in need of further investigation, our analyses, under maximum parsimony, distance, and maximum likelihood criteria, unambiguously indicate that Campydora shares a common, more recent, ancestry with genera such as Alaimus, Pontonema, Tripyla and Ironus (Enoplida), rather than with any members of Dorylaimida, Mononchida or Triplonchida.


Zootaxa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4974 (2) ◽  
pp. 333-360
Author(s):  
KOJI TOJO ◽  
KEN MIYAIRI ◽  
YUTO KATO ◽  
AYANA SAKANO ◽  
TOMOYA SUZUKI

A new mayfly species, Bleptus michinokuensis sp. nov. (Ephemeroptera: Heptageniidae) is described on the basis of specimens of male and female adults and mature nymphs collected at a seepage zone of a small freshwater branch of the ‘Tachiya-zawa-gawa’ River located amongst the northern foothills of Mt. Gassan (Shonai-machi Town, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan). This new Bleptus species is characterized by its clear fore and hind wings. That is, they neither exhibit the distinct black band on the fore wings, nor the characteristic darkened margins along the edges of both the fore and hind wings. Rather it has a blackish colored terminal half of its fore legs (i.e., tibial, tarsal and pretarsal segments). These features differ clearly when comparing them to the other known species, Bleptus fasciatus Eaton. The information and data describing the habitat and distribution range of this new species are also noted. We also examined and discussed the genetic relationship of two Bleptus mayflies to settle the taxonomic status, inferred from the partially sequenced cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and large mitochondrial ribosomal subunit (16S rRNA) genes, and also the nuclear internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) gene sequences. Consequently, phenetic and molecular phylogenetic analyses agreed well in terms of clustering. 


Therya ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 331-346
Author(s):  
C. William Kilpatrick ◽  
Nelish Pradhan ◽  
Ryan W Norris

The objectives of this study are to examine the available molecular data from the mitochondrial cytochrome-b gene (Cytb) and a concatenated dataset with this gene and two nuclear introns (Adh-1-I2 and Fgb-I7) to reexamine the systematic and phylogeographic conclusions reached by Sullivan et al. (1997) concerning the Peromyscus aztecus species group. The divergence of samples of P. aztecus oaxacensis across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec are further examined and taxonomic revisions are suggested. In addition, this study reviews the sources of data that lead to the conclusion that P. winkelmanni occurred in the Sierra Madre del Sur in Guerrero including a morphometric examination of a reported voucher. Bayesian and maximum likelihood analyses were conducted on a dataset of 31 Cytb sequences of all taxa in the P. aztecus group except for P. a. cordillerae and a concatenated dataset including five individuals of this group. Representative taxa of the P. boylii, P. mexicanus, and P. truei groups were included in both analyses. Body and cranial measurements of the voucher of the P. winkelmanni from Guerrero from which a Cytb sequence is reported to have been obtained was compared with measurements from specimens taken from the vicinity of Dos Aguas, Michoacán, including the type locality. We identified seven instances involving problematic identifications in GenBank. Once these issues were addressed, well-supported monophyletic sister clades of the P. aztecus and P. boylii species groups were recovered from phylogenetic analyses of Cytb sequences (Fig 1). Phylogenetic analyses of the Cytb and the concatenated datasets recover similar topologies that support the relationships of taxa of the aztecus group proposed by an earlier molecular study. Populations of P. a. oaxacensis southeast of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec represent a distinct species. Measurements of the voucher from Guerrero identified as the source of a P. winkelmanni Cytb sequence are smaller than P. winkelmanni for several characters. The divergent populations of P. a. oaxacensis from southeast of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec are recognized as two subspecies of P. cordillerae, P. c. cordillerae and P. c. hondurensis, whereas those northwest of the Isthmus are retained as P. a. oaxacensis. The lack of genetic divergence observed between P. a. evides and P. a. oaxacensis questions whether these two taxa should continue to be recognized as separate subspecies. Northern and southern populations of P. spicilegus demonstrate moderate divergence and additional examination of morphological and molecular differentiation within this taxon is warranted. The distribution of P. winkelmanni should be restricted to the vicinity of Dos Aguas, Michoacán, due to the lack of a voucher specimen that would confirm its reported occurrence in Guerrero.


Phytotaxa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 527 (3) ◽  
pp. 161-176
Author(s):  
NATALY QUIROZ-GONZÁLEZ ◽  
MA. EDITH PONCE-MÁRQUEZ ◽  
NORMA LÓPEZ-GÓMEZ ◽  
DENÍ RODRÍGUEZ

Gelidium pusillum is a species reported from the northern Gulf of California to the tropical region of the Mexican Pacific, but there is wide morphological variation among populations. The objective of this research was to evaluate of the Mexican species using morphological and molecular approaches, with the markers rbcL and COI-5P. This study examined 12 samples from four sites in the Mexican tropical Pacific. Phylogenetic analyses resolved these specimens within two clades separated from the topotype material of G. pusillum. The main morphological differences with other Mexican and phylogenetic closely related species were size, branching pattern, branching order, distribution of internal rhizoidal filaments, and shape of the tetrasporangial sori. The sequence divergences between these clades and the morphological differences support their representing distinct species so that Gelidium nayaritense sp. nov. is proposed for tropical specimens of the Mexican Pacific, whose diagnostic characteristics are the little or absent branching, its small size, as well as the presence of internal rhizoidal filaments concentrated in the subcortex, further G. sanyaense is register for first time from Mexico and Eastern Pacific.


Author(s):  
Ran Li ◽  
Wenbao Zhuang ◽  
Congcong Wang ◽  
Hamed El-Serehy ◽  
Saleh A. Al-Farraj ◽  
...  

The morphology and molecular phylogeny of Plagiopyla ovata Kahl, 1931, a poorly known anaerobic ciliate, were investigated based on a population isolated from sand samples collected from the Yellow Sea coast at Qingdao, PR China. Details of the oral ciliature are documented for the first time to our knowledge and an improved species diagnosis is given. The small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) gene was newly sequenced and phylogenetic analyses revealed that P. ovata clusters within the monophyletic family Plagiopylidae. However, evolutionary relationships within both the family Plagiopylidae and the genus Plagiopyla remain obscure owing to undersampling, the lack of sequence data from known species and low nodal support or unstable topologies in gene trees. A key to the identification of the species of the genus Plagiopyla with validly published names is also supplied.


Bothalia ◽  
1981 ◽  
Vol 13 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 275-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. C. Verdoorn

Waltheria indica L., the only species of Waltheria represented in southern Africa, is revised. This species, which occurs throughout the tropics and substropics of the world, is found abundantly in the northern Cape, Swaziland, northern Natal, Transvaal and northwards through South West Africa/Namibia and Botswana. Thoughout its wide distribution the species is uniform. A scrutiny o f herbarium specimens revealed that what appeared as a distinct species or subspecies was without doubt an abnormality, probably caused by insect injury.


2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ankita Sindhania ◽  
Manoj K. Das ◽  
Gunjan Sharma ◽  
Sinnathamby N. Surendran ◽  
B. R. Kaushal ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Anopheles subpictus and Anopheles sundaicus are closely related species, each comprising several sibling species. Ambiguities exist in the classification of these two nominal species and the specific status of members of these species complexes. Identifying fixed molecular forms and mapping their spatial distribution will help in resolving the taxonomic ambiguities and understanding their relative epidemiological significance. Methods DNA sequencing of Internal Transcribed Spacer-2 (ITS2), 28S-rDNA (D1-to-D3 domains) and cytochrome oxidase-II (COII) of morphologically identified specimens of two nominal species, An. subpictus sensu lato (s.l.) and An. sundaicus s.l., collected from the Indian subcontinent, was performed and subjected to genetic distance and molecular phylogenetic analyses. Results Molecular characterization of mosquitoes for rDNA revealed the presence of two molecular forms of An. sundaicus s.l. and three molecular forms of An. subpictus s.l. (provisionally designated as Form A, B and C) in the Indian subcontinent. Phylogenetic analyses revealed two distinct clades: (i) subpictus clade, with a single molecular form of An. subpictus (Form A) prevalent in mainland India and Sri Lanka, and (ii) sundaicus clade, comprising of members of Sundaicus Complex, two molecular forms of An. subpictus s.l. (Form B and C), prevalent in coastal areas or islands in Indian subcontinent, and molecular forms of An. subpictus s.l. reported from Thailand and Indonesia. Based on the number of float-ridges on eggs, all An. subpictus molecular Form B were classified as Species B whereas majority (80%) of the molecular Form A were classified as sibling species C. Fixed intragenomic sequence variation in ITS2 with the presence of two haplotypes was found in molecular Form A throughout its distribution. Conclusion A total of three molecular forms of An. subpictus s.l. and two molecular forms of An. sundaicus s.l. were recorded in the Indian subcontinent. Phylogenetically, two forms of An. subpictus s.l. (Form B and C) prevalent in coastal areas or islands in the Indian subcontinent and molecular forms reported from Southeast Asia are members of Sundaicus Complex. Molecular Form A of An. subpictus is distantly related to all other forms and deserve a distinct specific status.


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