Phylogenetic Codivergence Supports Coevolution of Mimetic Heliconius Butterflies

The unpalatable and warning-patterned butterflies _Heliconius erato_ and _Heliconius melpomene_ provide the best studied example of mutualistic Müllerian mimicry, thought – but rarely demonstrated – to promote coevolution. Some of the strongest available evidence for coevolution comes from phylogenetic codivergence, the parallel divergence of ecologically associated lineages. Early evolutionary reconstructions suggested codivergence between mimetic populations of _H. erato_ and _H. melpomene_, and this was initially hailed as the most striking known case of coevolution. However, subsequent molecular phylogenetic analyses found discrepancies in phylogenetic branching patterns and timing (topological and temporal incongruence) that argued against codivergence. We present the first explicit cophylogenetic test of codivergence between mimetic populations of _H. erato_ and _H. melpomene_, and re-examine the timing of these radiations. We find statistically significant topological congruence between multilocus coalescent population phylogenies of _H. erato_ and _H. melpomene_, supporting repeated codivergence of mimetic populations. Divergence time estimates, based on a Bayesian coalescent model, suggest that the evolutionary radiations of _H. erato_ and _H. melpomene_ occurred over the same time period, and are compatible with a series of temporally congruent codivergence events. This evidence supports a history of reciprocal coevolution between Müllerian co-mimics characterised by phylogenetic codivergence and parallel phenotypic change

apex: phylogenetics with multiple genes.

Genetic sequences of multiple genes are becoming increasingly common for a wide range of organisms including viruses, bacteria and eukaryotes. While such data may sometimes be treated as a single locus, in practice, a number of biological and statistical phenomena can lead to phylogenetic incongruence. In such cases, different loci should, at least as a preliminary step, be examined and analysed separately. The r software has become a popular platform for phylogenetics, with several packages implementing distance-based, parsimony and likelihood-based phylogenetic reconstruction, and an even greater number of packages implementing phylogenetic comparative methods. Unfortunately, basic data structures and tools for analysing multiple genes have so far been lacking, thereby limiting potential for investigating phylogenetic incongruence. In this study, we introduce the new r package apex to fill this gap. apex implements new object classes, which extend existing standards for storing DNA and amino acid sequences, and provides a number of convenient tools for handling, visualizing and analysing these data. In this study, we introduce the main features of the package and illustrate its functionalities through the analysis of a simple data set

Polyploidy breaks speciation barriers in Australian burrowing frogs Neobatrachus

Polyploidy has played an important role in evolution across the tree of life but it is still unclear how polyploid lineages may persist after their initial formation. While both common and well-studied in plants, polyploidy is rare in animals and generally less understood. The Australian burrowing frog genus Neobatrachus is comprised of six diploid and three polyploid species and offers a powerful animal polyploid model system. We generated exome-capture sequence data from 87 individuals representing all nine species of Neobatrachus to investigate species-level relationships, the origin and inheritance mode of polyploid species, and the population genomic effects of polyploidy on genus-wide demography. We describe rapid speciation of diploid Neobatrachus species and show that the three independently originated polyploid species have tetrasomic or mixed inheritance. We document higher genetic diversity in tetraploids, resulting from widespread gene flow between the tetraploids, asymmetric inter-ploidy gene flow directed from sympatric diploids to tetraploids, and isolation of diploid species from each other. We also constructed models of ecologically suitable areas for each species to investigate the impact of climate on differing ploidy levels. These models suggest substantial change in suitable areas compared to past climate, which correspond to population genomic estimates of demographic histories. We propose that Neobatrachus diploids may be suffering the early genomic impacts of climate-induced habitat loss, while tetraploids appear to be avoiding this fate, possibly due to widespread gene flow. Finally, we demonstrate that Neobatrachus is an attractive model to study the effects of ploidy on the evolution of adaptation in animals

Codivergence and multiple host species use by fig wasp populations of the Ficus pollination mutualism

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The interaction between insects and plants takes myriad forms in the generation of spectacular diversity. In this association a species host range is fundamental and often measured using an estimate of phylogenetic concordance between species. Pollinating fig wasps display extreme host species specificity, but the intraspecific variation in empirical accounts of host affiliation has previously been underestimated. In this investigation, lineage delimitation and codiversification tests are used to generate and discuss hypotheses elucidating on pollinating fig wasp associations with <it>Ficus</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Statistical parsimony and AMOVA revealed deep divergences at the <it>COI </it>locus within several pollinating fig wasp species that persist on the same host <it>Ficus </it>species. Changes in branching patterns estimated using the generalized mixed Yule coalescent test indicated lineage duplication on the same <it>Ficus </it>species. Conversely, <it>Elisabethiella </it>and <it>Alfonsiella </it>fig wasp species are able to reproduce on multiple, but closely related host fig species. Tree reconciliation tests indicate significant codiversification as well as significant incongruence between fig wasp and <it>Ficus </it>phylogenies.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The findings demonstrate more relaxed pollinating fig wasp host specificity than previously appreciated. Evolutionarily conservative host associations have been tempered by horizontal transfer and lineage duplication among closely related <it>Ficus </it>species. Independent and asynchronistic diversification of pollinating fig wasps is best explained by a combination of both sympatric and allopatric models of speciation. Pollinator host preference constraints permit reproduction on closely related <it>Ficus </it>species, but uncertainty of the frequency and duration of these associations requires better resolution.</p

Gene duplicability of core genes is highly consistent across all angiosperms

Gene duplication is an important mechanism for adding to genomic novelty. Hence, which genes undergo duplication and are preserved following duplication is an important question. It has been observed that gene duplicability, or the ability of genes to be retained following duplication, is a nonrandom process, with certain genes being more amenable to survive duplication events than others. Primarily, gene essentiality and the type of duplication (small-scale versus large-scale) have been shown in different species to influence the (long-term) survival of novel genes. However, an overarching view of "gene duplicability" is lacking, mainly due to the fact that previous studies usually focused on individual species and did not account for the influence of genomic context and the time of duplication. Here, we present a large-scale study in which we investigated duplicate retention for 9178 gene families shared between 37 flowering plant species, referred to as angiosperm core gene families. For most gene families, we observe a strikingly consistent pattern of gene duplicability across species, with gene families being either primarily single-copy or multicopy in all species. An intermediate class contains gene families that are often retained in duplicate for periods extending to tens of millions of years after whole-genome duplication, but ultimately appear to be largely restored to singleton status, suggesting that these genes may be dosage balance sensitive. The distinction between single-copy and multicopy gene families is reflected in their functional annotation, with single-copy genes being mainly involved in the maintenance of genome stability and organelle function and multicopy genes in signaling, transport, and metabolism. The intermediate class was overrepresented in regulatory genes, further suggesting that these represent putative dosage-balance-sensitive genes

Addressing Inter-Gene Heterogeneity in Maximum Likelihood Phylogenomic Analysis: Yeasts Revisited

Phylogenomic approaches to the resolution of inter-species relationships have become well established in recent years. Often these involve concatenation of many orthologous genes found in the respective genomes followed by analysis using standard phylogenetic models. Genome-scale data promise increased resolution by minimising sampling error, yet are associated with well-known but often inappropriately addressed caveats arising through data heterogeneity and model violation. These can lead to the reconstruction of highly-supported but incorrect topologies. With the aim of obtaining a species tree for 18 species within the ascomycetous yeasts, we have investigated the use of appropriate evolutionary models to address inter-gene heterogeneities and the scalability and validity of supermatrix analysis as the phylogenetic problem becomes more difficult and the number of genes analysed approaches truly phylogenomic dimensions. We have extended a widely-known early phylogenomic study of yeasts by adding additional species to increase diversity and augmenting the number of genes under analysis. We have investigated sophisticated maximum likelihood analyses, considering not only a concatenated version of the data but also partitioned models where each gene constitutes a partition and parameters are free to vary between the different partitions (thereby accounting for variation in the evolutionary processes at different loci). We find considerable increases in likelihood using these complex models, arguing for the need for appropriate models when analyzing phylogenomic data. Using these methods, we were able to reconstruct a well-supported tree for 18 ascomycetous yeasts spanning about 250 million years of evolution

Mapping phylogenetic trees to reveal distinct patterns of evolution

Evolutionary relationships are frequently described by phylogenetic trees, but a central barrier in many fields is the difficulty of interpreting data containing conflicting phylogenetic signals.We present a metric-based method for comparing trees which extracts distinct alternative evolutionary relationships embedded in data. We demonstrate detection and resolution of phylogenetic uncertainty in a recent study of anole lizards, leading to alternate hypotheses about their evolutionary relationships. We use our approach to compare trees derived from different genes of Ebolavirus and find that the VP30 gene has a distinct phylogenetic signature composed of three alternatives that differ in the deep branching structure

Introgressive Hybridization and the Evolution of Lake-Adapted Catostomid Fishes.

Hybridization has been identified as a significant factor in the evolution of plants as groups of interbreeding species retain their phenotypic integrity despite gene exchange among forms. Recent studies have identified similar interactions in animals; however, the role of hybridization in the evolution of animals has been contested. Here we examine patterns of gene flow among four species of catostomid fishes from the Klamath and Rogue rivers using molecular and morphological traits. Catostomus rimiculus from the Rogue and Klamath basins represent a monophyletic group for nuclear and morphological traits; however, the Klamath form shares mtDNA lineages with other Klamath Basin species (C. snyderi, Chasmistes brevirostris, Deltistes luxatus). Within other Klamath Basin taxa, D. luxatus was largely fixed for alternate nuclear alleles relative to C. rimiculus, while Ch. brevirostris and C. snyderi exhibited a mixture of these alleles. Deltistes luxatus was the only Klamath Basin species that exhibited consistent covariation of nuclear and mitochondrial traits and was the primary source of mismatched mtDNA in Ch. brevirostris and C. snyderi, suggesting asymmetrical introgression into the latter species. In Upper Klamath Lake, D. luxatus spawning was more likely to overlap spatially and temporally with C. snyderi and Ch. brevirostris than either of those two with each other. The latter two species could not be distinguished with any molecular markers but were morphologically diagnosable in Upper Klamath Lake, where they were largely spatially and temporally segregated during spawning. We examine parallel evolution and syngameon hypotheses and conclude that observed patterns are most easily explained by introgressive hybridization among Klamath Basin catostomids