Phylogeny of the Drosophila mesophragmatica group (Diptera, Drosophilidae): an example of Andean evolution.

The mesophragmatica group of Drosophila belongs to the virilis-repleta radiation of the Drosophila subgenus. This group comprises 13 Neotropical species that are endemic to the South-American continent and seem to be fundamentally Andean in their distribution. The mesophragmatica-group phylogeny has been inferred previously by other authors based on morphological, cytological, and isozyme analyses.

Molecular phylogeny of the subgenus Drosophila (Diptera, Drosophilidae) with an emphasis on Neotropical species and groups: a nuclear versus mitochondrial gene approach.

The genus Drosophila has played an essential role in many biological studies during the last 100 years but much controversy and many incompletely addressed issues still remain to be elucidated regarding the phylogeny of this genus. Because information on the Neotropical species contained in the subgenus Drosophila is particularly incomplete, with this taxonomic group being underrepresented in many studies, we designed a study to answer some evolutionary questions related to these species. We subjected at least 41 Drosophilidae taxa to a phylogenetic analysis using a 516-base pair (bp) fragment of the alpha-methyldopa (Amd) nuclear gene and a 672 bp fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit II (COII) gene both individually and in combination.

Preadult competition between colonizing populations of Drosophila subobscura and established populations of Drosophila simulans in Chile.

The palearctic species Drosophila subobscura was detected for the first time in Chile and probably in the Americas in 1978. At present, its distribution area extends between 29°54'S and 53°40'S, where it has become abundant in both domestic and wild environments, depending on the latitude and the season of the year (appearing at maximum frequency in early spring). The seasonal fluctuations of D.