Journal
HEREDITY
Volume 102, Issue 6, Pages 590-599Publisher
SPRINGERNATURE
DOI: 10.1038/hdy.2009.26
Keywords
allopatric distribution; Erynnis horatius; Erynnis propertius; organelle capture; introgression; mtDNA
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Funding
- Office of Science (BER), US Department of Energy [DE-FG02-05ER 64023, DE- FG0206ER64263]
- California Energy Commission, CIEE [MEX-06-04]
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Gene transfer between species during interspecific hybridization is a widely accepted reality in plants but is considered a relatively rare phenomenon among animals. Here we describe a unique case of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) paraphyly in the skipper genus, Erynnis, that involves well-diverged allopatric species. Using molecular evidence from both mitochondrial and nuclear genomes, we found high levels of intraspecific divergence in the mitochondrial genome within E. propertius (over 4% pair-wise sequence divergence) but no such differentiation in the nuclear genome. Sequence comparisons with related Erynnis suggest that past, but recent and infrequent introgression between E. propertius and E. horatius is the most reasonable explanation for the observed pattern of mtDNA paraphyly. This example of putative introgression highlights the complexity of mtDNA evolution and suggests that similar processes could be operating in other taxa that have not been extensively sampled. Our observations reinforce the importance of involving multiple genes with different modes of inheritance in the analysis of population history of congeneric taxa. Heredity (2009) 102, 590-599; doi:10.1038/hdy.2009.26; published online 18 March 2009
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