The evolution of alternative parasitic life histories in large blue butterflies
The evolution of alternative parasitic life histories in large blue butterflies
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DOI：
10.1038/nature03020
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发表时间：
2004-11-18
期刊：
影响因子：
64.8
通讯作者：
Pierce, NE
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Als, TD;Vila, R;Pierce, NE
大型蓝蝶在整个古北界地区都处于高度濒危状态，并且一直是密集的保护研究的重点（1-3）。此外，它们非凡的寄生生活方式使它们成为研究生命史进化的理想选择。早期的幼虫吃特定寄主植物的花蕾，但后期的幼虫生活在蚁巢中，它们要么吃掉幼蚁（捕食者），要么由成年蚂蚁（杜鹃）口对口喂食。在这里，我们提出了该集团的系统发育，这表明它是一个单系分支嵌套在Phengaris，一个罕见的东方属，其物种具有相似的生活史（4，5）。布谷鸟物种很可能是从捕食性祖先进化而来的。早在500万年前，两个斑节蜱分支就发生了分歧，导致了今天在该属中看到的不同寄生策略。与目前的看法相反，这两种公认的杜鹃物种几乎没有遗传差异，可能是一个单一的生态分化物种（6-10）。另一方面，一些掠食性形态种表现出相当大的遗传分化，可能包含隐蔽种。这些发现对保护和再引入工作具有重要意义。
Large blue (Maculinea) butterflies are highly endangered throughout the Palaearctic region, and have been the focus of intense conservation research(1-3). In addition, their extraordinary parasitic lifestyles make them ideal for studies of life history evolution. Early instars consume flower buds of specific host plants, but later instars live in ant nests where they either devour the brood (predators), or are fed mouth-to-mouth by the adult ants (cuckoos). Here we present the phylogeny for the group, which shows that it is a monophyletic clade nested within Phengaris, a rare Oriental genus whose species have similar life histories(4,5). Cuckoo species are likely to have evolved from predatory ancestors. As early as five million years ago, two Maculinea clades diverged, leading to the different parasitic strategies seen in the genus today. Contrary to current belief, the two recognized cuckoo species show little genetic divergence and are probably a single ecologically differentiated species(6-10). On the other hand, some of the predatory morphospecies exhibit considerable genetic divergence and may contain cryptic species. These findings have important implications for conservation and reintroduction efforts.