Paraphyletic Relationship Research Articles

Interspecific and intraspecific mitochondrial DNA variation in North American bears (Ursus)

We assessed mitochondrial DNA variation in North American black bears (Ursus americanus), brown bears (Ursus arctos), and polar bears (Ursus maritimus). Divergent mitochondrial DNA haplotypes (0.05 base substitutions per nucleotide) were identified in populations of black bears from Montana and Oregon. In contrast, very similar haplotypes occur in black bears across North America. This discordance of haplotype phylogeny and geographic distribution indicates that there has been maintenance of polymorphism and considerable gene flow throughout the history of the species. Intraspecific mitochondrial DNA sequence divergence in brown bears and polar bears is lower than in black bears. The two morphological forms of U. arctos, grizzly and coastal brown bears, are not in distinct mtDNA lineages. Interspecific comparisons indicate that brown bears and polar bears share similar mitochondrial DNA (0.023 base substitutions per nucleotide) which is quite divergent (0.078 base substitutions per nucleotide) from that of black bears. High mitochondrial DNA divergence within black bears and paraphyletic relationships of brown and polar bear mitochondrial DNA indicate that intraspecific variation across species' ranges should be considered in phylogenetic analyses of mitochondrial DNA.

Genetic structure of Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico populations of sea bass, menhaden, and sturgeon: Influence of zoogeographic factors and life-history patterns

To assess the influence of zoogeographic factors and life-history parameters (effective population size, generation length, and dispersal) on the evolutionary genetic structure of marine fishes in the southeastern USA, phylogeographic patterns of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) were compared between disjunct Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico populations in three coastal marine fishes whose juveniles require an estuarine or freshwater habitat for development. Black sea bass (Centropristis striata), menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus andB. patronus) and sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrhynchus) samples were collected between 1986 and 1988. All species showed significant haplotype frequency differences between the Atlantic and Gulf, but the magnitude and distribution of mtDNA variation differed greatly among these taxa: sea bass showed little within-region mtDNA polymorphism and a clear phylogenetic distinction between the Atlantic and Gulf; menhaden showed extensive within-region polymorphism and a paraphyletic relationship between Atlantic and Gulf populations; and sturgeon exhibited very low mtDNA diversity both within regions and overall. Evolutionary effective sizes of the female populations (N f (e)) estimated from the mtDNA data ranged fromN f (e) = 50 (Gulf of Mexico sturgeon) toN f (e) = 800 000 (Atlantic menhaden), and showed a strong rank-order agreement with the current-day census sizes of these species. The relationship betweenN f (e) and the estimated times of divergence (t) among mtDNA lineages (from conventional clock calibrations) predicts the observed phylogenetic distinction between Atlantic and Gulf sea bass, as well as the paraphyletic pattern in menhaden, provided the populations have been separated by the same long-standing zoogeographic barriers thought to have influenced other coastal taxa in the southeastern USA. However, vicariant scenarios alone cannot explain other phylogenetic aspects of the menhaden (and sturgeon) mtDNA data and, for these species, recent gene flow between the Atlantic and Gulf coasts is strongly implicated. These data are relevant to management and conservation issues for these species.

MITOCHONDRIAL GENE TREES AND THE EVOLUTIONARY RELATIONSHIP OF MALLARD AND BLACK DUCKS.

We assayed restriction site differences in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) within and among allopatric populations of the Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) and the American Black Duck (A. rubripes). The observed mtDNA clones grouped into two phylogenetically distinct arrays that we estimate differ by about 0.8% in nucleotide sequence. Genotypes in one clonal array were present in both species, while genotypes in the other array were seen only in Mallards. In terms of the mtDNA "gene tree," the assayed Mallards exhibit a paraphyletic relationship with respect to Black Ducks, meaning that genealogical separations among some extant haplotypes in the Mallard predate the species separation. Evidence is advanced that this pattern probably resulted from demographically based processes of lineage sorting, rather than recent, secondary introgressive hybridization. However, haplotype frequencies were most similar among conspecific populations, so the Mallard and Black Ducks cluster separately in terms of a population phenogram. The results provide a clear example of the distinction between a gene tree and a population tree, and of the distinction between data analyses that view individuals versus populations as operational taxonomic units (OTUs). Overall, the mtDNA data indicate an extremely close evolutionary relationship between Mallards and Black Ducks, and in conjunction with the geographic distributions suggest that the Black Duck is a recent evolutionary derivative of a more broadly distributed Mallard-Black ancestor.

Arthropodization in the Hirudinea: evidence for a phylogenetic link with insects and other Uniramia?

The Hirudinea have a number of arthropod-like characters, including a true haemocoel and compound eyes. This ‘arthropodization’ may have bearing on the origin of the arthropod phylum Uniramia. Certain traits shared by Clitellata and Uniramia are interpreted as primitive and compatible with the view that a monophyletic link exists between these two groups: ‘internal’ fertilization, egg protected by cocoon/chorion, egg yolky with direct development not invoking a planktotrophic larval stage, formation and fate of presumptive areas in early embryology, uniramous lobopodial-like structures and the presence of uniramous mouthparts. Still other traits shared by Hirudinea and Hexapoda are interpreted as advanced and evidence for a paraphyletic relationship between leeches and pterygote insects: oogenesis with nurse cells, cephalization and segmental constancy. It is proposed that a major theme in uniramian evolution is the invasion of land from freshwater by a pre-lobopodial clitellate-like ancestor, the lobopodium being an adaptation to terrestrial locomotion. These views give new significance to the poorly studied fossil segmented worms from freshwater and terrestrial palaeohabitats.