Rosabeth M. Kanter’s mantra – Show up. Speak up. Look up.Team up.Never give up. Lift others up

Delta K obtained for Bombus morio for each K. (DOCX 29 kb

Comparative phylogeography in the Atlantic forest and Brazilian savannas: pleistocene fluctuations and dispersal shape spatial patterns in two bumblebees

Background: Bombus morio and B. pauloensis are sympatric widespread bumblebee species that occupy two major Brazilian biomes, the Atlantic forest and the savannas of the Cerrado. Differences in dispersion capacity, which is greater in B. morio, likely influence their phylogeographic patterns. This study asks which processes best explain the patterns of genetic variation observed in B. morio and B. pauloensis, shedding light on the phenomena that shaped the range of local populations and the spatial distribution of intra-specific lineages. Results: Results suggest that Pleistocene climatic oscillations directly influenced the population structure of both species. Correlative species distribution models predict that the warmer conditions of the Last Interglacial contributed to population contraction, while demographic expansion happened during the Last Glacial Maximum. These results are consistent with physiological data suggesting that bumblebees are well adapted to colder conditions. Intra-specific mitochondrial genealogies are not congruent between the two species, which may be explained by their documented differences in dispersal ability. Conclusions: While populations of the high-dispersal B. morio are morphologically and genetically homogeneous across the species range, B. pauloensis encompasses multiple (three) mitochondrial lineages, and show clear genetic, geographic, and morphological differences. Because the lineages of B. pauloensis are currently exposed to distinct climatic conditions (and elevations), parapatric diversification may occur within this taxon. The eastern portion of the state of São Paulo, the most urbanized area in Brazil, represents the center of genetic diversity for B. pauloensis

Phylogeography of Bombus morio and B. pauloensis (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

A Filogeografia é um dos campos mais multidisciplinares da Biologia, e agrega diferentes áreas como sistemática filogenética, genética de populações, geologia, modelos paleogeográficos e paleoclimáticos, demografia e conservação. Assim, além da Filogeografia comparada, apresento resultados importantes para a conservação das espécies estudadas e a descrição de uma espécie críptica. Bombus morio e B. pauloensis são espécies simpátricas que ocupam uma grande área em dois importantes biomas brasileiros, Mata Atlântica e Cerrado. Exceto pelas diferenças na dispersão, maior em B. morio, possuem comportamento e nicho ecológico semelhantes. Os resultados gerados a partir de marcadores moleculares e modelagem de distribuição sugerem que as alterações climáticas do final do Pleistoceno influenciaram a estrutura populacional das duas espécies, e que a maior capacidade de dispersão foi responsável pela ausência de estruturação em B. morio. O leste do estado de São Paulo, no qual foram encontradas diferentes quebras filogeográficas para vários organismos, mostrou-se mais uma vez complexo e com mais um diferente cenário filogeográfico. Além disso, essa região por ser o centro da diversidade genética em B. pauloensis e ter sido estável ao longo da mudanças climáticas para ambas espécies, é prioritária para a conservação das mesmasPhylogeography is one of the most multidisciplinary fields in Biology and joins different areas such as phylogenetic systematics, population genetics, geology, paleogeographic and paleoclimatic models, demography, and conservation. Thus, besides comparative Phylogeography, I also present important results concerning the conservation of the species studied and the description of a cryptic species. Bombus morio and B. pauloensis are sympatric species, occupying a large area in two important Brazilian biomes, Atlantic forest and Brazilian savanna. Except for differences in dispersal, which is greater in B. morio, both species have similar behavior and ecological niches. The results obtained by molecular data and distribution models suggest that climatic oscillations in the late Pleistocene influenced the population structure of both species, and that a greater dispersal capacity was responsible for the absence of genetic structure in B. morio. Eastern São Paulo state, in which different phylogeographic breaks have been found for many organisms, seems to be complex and to have a new phylogeographic scenario. Furthermore, this region, because it is the center of genetic diversity for B. pauloensis and it was stable throughout periods of climatic change for both species, is a priority for their conservatio

Fidelity of DNA polymerases in the detection of intraindividual variation of mitochondrial DNA

Here we investigated the consequences of PCR amplification errors in the identification of intraindividual mtDNA variation. The bumblebee Bombus morio was chosen as model for the COI gene amplification tests with two DNA polymerases (Taq and Q5) presenting different error rates. The amplifications using Taq resulted in a significant increase of singleton haplotypes per individual in comparison to Q5. The sequence characteristics indicated that Taq resulted haplotypes are mostly due to amplification errors. Studies focusing on intraindividual variability should address special attention to the DNA polymerase fidelity to avoid overestimation of heteroplasmic haplotypes

Conserved numts mask a highly divergent mitochondrial-COI gene in a species complex of Australian stingless bees Tetragonula (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

Tetragonula carbonaria, Tetragonula davenporti, Tetragonula hockingsi and Tetragonula mellipes comprise a species complex of Australian stingless bee species known as the ‘Carbonaria’ group. The species are difficult to distinguish morphologically and the major species-defining characters relate to comb architecture and nest entrance ornamentation. The taxonomy of the group is further complicated by likely nuclear mitochondrial pseudogenes (numts) and inter-specific hybrids. Here we demonstrate the existence of COI numts and isolate and characterize the ‘true’ mt-COI gene in T. carbonaria and T. hockingsi. Numts were isolated from enriched-nuclear DNA extraction followed by PCR amplification and Sanger sequencing, and were recognized by the presence of deletions and/or premature stop codons in the translated sequences. The mt-COI sequences were obtained from NGS sequencing using purified mtDNA. In T. carbonaria, two numts (numt1 and numt2) were identified and a third (numt3) was identified in T. hockingsi. Numt2 and numt3 are similar (1.2% sequence divergence), indicating a recent common origin. The genetic distance between the mt-COI of the two Tetragonula species was higher than might be expected for closely related species, 16.5%, corroborating previous studies in which T. carbonaria and T. hockingsi were regarded as separate species. The three numts are more similar to the COI of other stingless bee species, including Australian Austroplebia australis and South American Melipona bicolor (81.7–83.9%) than to the mt-COI of their own species (70–71.4%). This is because the mt-COI of T. carbonaria and T. hockingsi differ greatly from other Meliponinae. Our findings explain some formerly puzzling aspects of Carbonaria biogeography, and misinterpreted amplifications

Very low mitochondrial variability in a stingless bee endemic to cerrado

Partamona mulata is a stingless bee species endemic to cerrado, a severely threatened phytogeographical domain. Clearing for pasture without proper soil treatment in the cerrado facilitates the proliferation of termite ground nests, which are the nesting sites for P. mulata. The genetic consequences of these changes in the cerrado environment for bee populations are still understudied. In this work, we analyzed the genetic diversity of 48 colonies of P. mulata collected throughout the species' distribution range by sequencing two mitochondrial genes, cytochrome oxidase I and cytochrome B. A very low polymorphism rate was observed when compared to another Partamona species from the Atlantic forest. Exclusive haplotypes were observed in two of the five areas sampled. The sharing of two haplotypes between collection sites separated by a distance greater than the flight range of queens indicates an ancient distribution for these haplotypes. The low haplotype and nucleotide diversity observed here suggests that P. mulata is either a young species or one that has been through population bottlenecks. Locally predominant and exclusive haplotypes (H2 and H4) may have been derived from local remnants through cerrado deforestation and the expansion of a few colonies with abundant nesting sites

Evolutionary perspectives on bee mtDNA from mito-OMICS analyses of a solitary species

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Additional file 1: of Diapause in a tropical oil-collecting bee: molecular basis unveiled by RNA-Seq

Tables presenting the differentially expressed transcripts and gene annotation results. (XLSX 413 kb