Abstract
The impact of both the uplift of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) and the separation of the Taiwan and Hainan Islands on the evolution of the fauna and flora in adjacent regions has been a topic of considerable interest. Mollitrichosiphum is a polyphagous insect group with a wide range of host plants (14 families) and distributions restricted to Southeast Asia. Based on the mitochondrial Cytochrome C Oxidase Subunit I (COI) and Cytochrome b (Cytb) genes, the nuclear elongation factor-1α (EF-1α) gene, and the detailed distribution and host plant data, we investigated the species differentiation modes of the Chinese Mollitrichosiphum species. Phylogenetic analyses supported the monophyly of Mollitrichosiphum. The divergence time of Mollitrichosiphum tenuicorpus (c. 11.0 mya (million years ago)), Mollitrichosiphum nandii and Mollitrichosiphum montanum (c. 10.6 mya) was within the time frame of the uplift of the QTP. Additionally, basal species mainly fed on Fagaceae, while species that fed on multiple plants diverged considerably later. Ancestral state reconstruction suggests that Fagaceae may be the first acquired host, and the acquisition of new hosts and the expansion of host range may have promoted species differentiation within this genus. Overall, it can be concluded that geographical isolation and the expansion of the host plant range may be the main factors driving species differentiation of Mollitrichosiphum.
Highlights
Southern China is characterized by a complex topography and represents the major biodiversity hotspots [1]
The combined dataset supported the monophyly of this genus (ML/BI: 80/1.00) and of most species (Figure 1B)
The samples of M. luchuanum and M. rhusae clustered together and formed a paraphyletic clade in the phylogenetic tree based on the elongation factor-1α (EF-1α), while the two species could be distinguished in the trees based on combined datasets of the two mitochondrial genes as well as the total three genes
Summary
Southern China is characterized by a complex topography and represents the major biodiversity hotspots [1]. Studies based on distribution data have indicated that the Hengduan Mountains, north of the Sichuan and Yunnan Province, and the Hainan and Taiwan Islands are diversity centers for birds, amphibians, insects and plants [10,11,12,13,14,15]. These studies, which are based on distribution records, described the primary spatial diversity patterns in southern China. Some phylogeographical studies have been performed in southern China, especially focused on plants [16,17,18], mammals [19], birds [20,21,22] and reptiles [23]
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