AI Article Synopsis

  • Researchers analyzed the nucleotide sequences of the spacer region of the histone gene H2A-H2B from 36 species within the Drosophila melanogaster species group to study their evolutionary relationships.
  • Phylogenetic trees were constructed using methods like maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian analysis, with Drosophila pseudoobscura serving as the outgroup.
  • The findings revealed three major lineages of the melanogaster species group, with significant differences in phylogenetic relationships compared to prior studies based on other DNA and morphological data.

Article Abstract

Nucleotide sequences of the spacer region of the histone gene H2A-H2B from 36 species of Drosophila melanogaster species group were determined. The phylogenetic trees were reconstructed with maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian methods by using Drosophila pseudoobscura as the out group. Our results show that the melanogaster species group clustered in three main lineages: (1). montium subgroup; (2). ananassae subgroup; and (3). the seven oriental subgroups, among which the montium subgroup diverged first. In the third main lineage, suzukii and takahashii subgroups formed a clade, while eugracilis, melanogaster, elegans, ficusphila, and rhopaloa subgroups formed another clade. The bootstrap values at subgroup levels are high. The phylogenetic relationships of these species subgroups derived from our data are very different from those based on some other DNA data and morphology data.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s1055-7903(03)00212-4DOI Listing

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