Phylogenomics and evolutionary history of Oreobates (Anura: Craugastoridae) Neotropical frogs along elevational gradients.

Mountain ranges offer opportunities for understanding how species evolved and diversified across different environmental conditions. Neotropical frogs of the genus Oreobates (Anura: Craugastoridae) are adapted to highland and lowland habitats along the Andes, but many aspects of their evolution remain unknown. We studied their evolutionary history using ~18,000 exons enriched by targeted sequence-capture.

Digest: Resolving phylogenomic conflicts in characiform fishes†.

How can taxonomists best resolve the challenge of curating and analyzing large phylogenomic datasets that produce incongruent but highly supported topologies? Betancur-R et al. used a recently established hypothesis-testing procedure on a large dataset of genes and species to study the evolutionary relationships of characiform fishes, finding that past conclusions of non-monophyly may have been problematic and establishing monophyly with high confidence. The new findings highlight the importance of using dense taxon sampling to resolve conflicting relationships with phylogenomic data.

The genomic basis of adaptation to high-altitude habitats in the eastern honey bee (Apis cerana).

The eastern honey bee (Apis cerana) is of central importance for agriculture in Asia. It has adapted to a wide variety of environmental conditions across its native range in southern and eastern Asia, which includes high-altitude regions. eastern honey bees inhabiting mountains differ morphologically from neighbouring lowland populations and may also exhibit differences in physiology and behaviour.

A practical guide to build assemblies for single tissues of non-model organisms: the example of a Neotropical frog.

Whole genome sequencing (WGS) is a very valuable resource to understand the evolutionary history of poorly known species. However, in organisms with large genomes, as most amphibians, WGS is still excessively challenging and transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) represents a cost-effective tool to explore genome-wide variability. Non-model organisms do not usually have a reference genome and the transcriptome must be assembled .

Cryptic within cryptic: genetics, morphometrics, and bioacoustics delimitate a new species of (Anura: Eleutherodactylidae) from Eastern Cuba.

We studied the variation in genetics, bioacustics, and morphology in Eleutherodactylus glamyrus, a regionally endemic frog species restricted to high elevations in the Sierra Maestra Massif, Western Cuba that was originally described as a cryptic species hidden under the name E. auriculatus. Genetic analysis of mtDNA sequences of the 16S and cob genes identify two allopatric and strongly supported mitochondrial clades (phylogroups) which also showed no haplotype sharing in the nuclear Rag-1 gene.

Unexpectedly High Levels of Cryptic Diversity Uncovered by a Complete DNA Barcoding of Reptiles of the Socotra Archipelago.

Few DNA barcoding studies of squamate reptiles have been conducted. Due to the significance of the Socotra Archipelago (a UNESCO Natural World Heritage site and a biodiversity hotspot) and the conservation interest of its reptile fauna (94% endemics), we performed the most comprehensive DNA barcoding study on an island group to date to test its applicability to specimen identification and species discovery. Reptiles constitute Socotra's most important vertebrate fauna, yet their taxonomy remains under-studied.