Abstract
Different populations of two closely related species, Cryptocephalusflavipes and C. bameuli, from western (Alps, Apennines and Pyrenees) and central Europe (Poland, Ukraine and Pannonia) were analysed. On the basis of DNA sequences from two genes, cox1 and ef1-α, distinctiveness of both species was confirmed. Nevertheless, possible hybrids were identified in Carpathian mountains. We found a significant genetic differentiation among populations of C. flavipes and C. bameuli from distant regions but a high genetic similarity between populations of C. bameuli from north and south of the Carpathians. Demographic estimates suggest a past population expansion in the case of C. bameuli and a recent one for C. flavipes, possibly occurred during Pleistocene and Holocene, respectively. Distribution modelling showed that C. flavipes is typically present in the mountain systems, whereas C. bameuli is associated with hilly areas of central and eastern Europe. Based on the present data, Last Glacial Maximum refugia of both species were located in the Alpine region and Black Sea coasts, but on different elevations. The characterization of the insect diet, through a DNA metabarcoding approach targeting the trnL plant intron, demonstrated a significant differentiation of food preferences between the two species, as well as between geographic populations within the species.
Highlights
Cryptocephalus Müller (Chrysomelidae) is one of the most species-rich genera in the order of Coleoptera, and because of that, it represents an excellent model for studying ecological and evolutionary processes, in particular speciation
The mitochondrial genetic diversity of the populations of C. flavipes and C. bameuli was found to be moderate or high, generally higher in the latter species (Table I); this observation could be the result of the unequal sample size
Even in the case of an identical sample size (N = 9 for both), as for the Alpine populations, C. bameuli resulted to be more diverse than C. flavipes
Summary
Cryptocephalus Müller (Chrysomelidae) is one of the most species-rich genera in the order of Coleoptera, and because of that, it represents an excellent model for studying ecological and evolutionary processes, in particular speciation. Recent studies focused on leaf beetles have revealed interesting evolutionary features of Cryptocephalus, as the presence of highly divergent lineages (i.e. Cryptocephalus coryli (L.), C. decemmaculatus (L.), C. nitidulus (F.) and C. barii Burl.) (Piper & Compton 2003; Brunetti et al 2019); cases of hybridization and mtDNA paraphyly in the only two species complexes studied so far (i.e. C_sericeus and C. flavipes species complexes; Gómez-Zurita et al 2012; Montagna et al.2016a). The latter finding was explained by the authors as the result of recent cladogenetic events and by episodes of hybridization in areas of secondary contact among the closely related species.
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