Diversity of phylogenetic information according to the locus and the taxonomic level: an example from a parasitic mesostigmatid mite genus.

Molecular markers for cladistic analyses may perform differently according to the taxonomic group considered and the historical level under investigation. Here we evaluate the phylogenetic potential of five different markers for resolving evolutionary relationships within the ectoparasitic genus Dermanyssus at the species level, and their ability to address questions about the evolution of specialization. COI provided 9-18% divergence between species (up to 9% within species), 16S rRNA 10-16% (up to 4% within species), ITS1 and 2 2-9% (up to 1% within species) and Tropomyosin intron n 8-20% (up to 6% within species).