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Speciation and evolutionary genetics

This section considers studies into speciation and the role of inheritance and variation in individuals and among populations in evolution.

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  1. Orange jasmine has a complex nomenclatural history and is now known as Murraya paniculata (L.) Jack. Our interest in this common ornamental stemmed from the need to resolve its identity and the identities of clos...

    Authors: Chung Huy Nguyen, G. Andrew C. Beattie, Anthony M. Haigh, Inggit Puji Astuti, David J. Mabberley, Peter H. Weston and Paul Holford
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:236
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  2. Due to the environmental heterogeneity along elevation gradients, alpine ecosystems are ideal study objects for investigating how ecological variables shape the genetic patterns of natural species. The highest...

    Authors: Zhigang Wu, Xinwei Xu, Juan Zhang, Gerhard Wiegleb and Hongwei Hou
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:228
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  3. The process by which populations evolve to become new species involves the emergence of various reproductive isolating barriers (RIB). Despite major advancements in understanding this complex process, very lit...

    Authors: Tiffany A. Chin, Carla E. Cáceres and Melania E. Cristescu
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:216
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  4. Secondary contact between closely related lineages can result in a variety of outcomes, including hybridization, depending upon the strength of reproductive barriers. By examining the extent to which different...

    Authors: Margaret L. Haines, Gordon Luikart, Stephen J. Amish, Seth Smith and Emily K. Latch
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:199
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  5. Heliopora coerulea, the blue coral, is the octocoral characterized by its blue skeleton. Recently, two Heliopora species were delimited by DNA markers: HC-A and HC-B. To clarify the genomic divergence of these He...

    Authors: Akira Iguchi, Yuki Yoshioka, Zac H. Forsman, Ingrid S.S. Knapp, Robert J. Toonen, Yuki Hongo, Satoshi Nagai and Nina Yasuda
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:187
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  6. The Neacomys genus is predominantly found in the Amazon region, and belongs to the most diverse tribe of the Sigmodontinae subfamily (Rodentia, Cricetidae, Oryzomyini). The systematics of this genus and questions...

    Authors: Willam Oliveira da Silva, Julio Cesar Pieczarka, Marlyson Jeremias Rodrigues da Costa, Malcolm Andrew Ferguson-Smith, Patricia Caroline Mary O’Brien, Ana Cristina Mendes-Oliveira, Rogério Vieira Rossi and Cleusa Yoshiko Nagamachi
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:184
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  7. Triplophysa stoliczkae is the most widespread species in the genus Triplophysa and may have originated from morphological convergence. To understand the evolutionary history of T. stoliczkae, we employed a multil...

    Authors: Chenguang Feng, Yongtao Tang, Sijia Liu, Fei Tian, Cunfang Zhang and Kai Zhao
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:177
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  8. Hybridogenesis can represent the first stage towards hybrid speciation where the hybrid taxon eventually weans off its parental species. In hybridogenetic water frogs, the hybrid Pelophylax kl. esculentus (genome...

    Authors: Sylvain Dubey, Tiziano Maddalena, Laura Bonny, Daniel L. Jeffries and Christophe Dufresnes
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:164
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  9. Understanding the genetic basis of local adaptation has long been the concern of biologists. Identifying these adaptive genetic variabilities is crucial not only to improve our knowledge of the genetic mechani...

    Authors: Xue-Xia Zhang, Bao-Guo Liu, Yong Li, Ying Liu, Yan-Xia He, Zhi-Hao Qian and Jia-Xin Li
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:160
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  10. Evolutionary patterns of scleractinian (stony) corals are difficult to infer given the existence of few diagnostic characters and pervasive phenotypic plasticity. A previous study of Hawaiian Montipora (Scleracti...

    Authors: Regina L. Cunha, Zac H. Forsman, Roy Belderok, Ingrid S. S. Knapp, Rita Castilho and Robert J. Toonen
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:153
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  13. Current patterns of population genetic variation may have been shaped by long-term evolutionary history and contemporary demographic processes. Understanding the underlying mechanisms that yield those patterns...

    Authors: Weiran Wang, Yitao Zheng, Jindong Zhao and Meng Yao
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:134
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  14. Predicted genetic consequences of asexuality include high intraindividual genetic diversity (i.e., the Meselson effect) and accumulation of deleterious mutations (i.e., Muller’s Ratchet), among others. These c...

    Authors: Laia Leria, Miquel Vila-Farré, Eduard Solà and Marta Riutort
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:130
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  15. The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) is the world’s highest and largest plateau, but the role of its uplift in the evolution of species or biotas still remains poorly known. Toad-headed lizards of the reproductiv...

    Authors: Chao-Chao Hu, Yan-Qing Wu, Li Ma, Yi-Jing Chen and Xiang Ji
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:114
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  16. A major focus of evolutionary biology is the formation of reproductive barriers leading to divergence and ultimately, speciation. Often, it is not clear whether the separation of populations is complete or if ...

    Authors: Pnina Cohen and Eyal Privman
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:111
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  17. Lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) and interior spruce (Picea glauca, Picea engelmannii, and their hybrids) are distantly related conifer species. Previous studies identified 47 genes containing variants associated ...

    Authors: Mengmeng Lu, Kathryn A. Hodgins, Jon C. Degner and Sam Yeaman
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:110
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  18. In the arms race between hosts and parasites, genes involved in the immune response are targets for natural selection. Toll-Like Receptor (TLR) genes play a role in parasite detection as part of the innate imm...

    Authors: Jennifer Antonides, Samarth Mathur, Mekala Sundaram, Robert Ricklefs and J. Andrew DeWoody
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:107
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  19. Hyperdiverse mtDNA with more than 5% of variable synonymous nucleotide sites can lead to erroneous interpretations of population genetic differentiation patterns and parameters (φST, DEST). We illustrate this by ...

    Authors: S. Fourdrilis and T. Backeljau
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:92
    Content type: Research article Published on:

    The Correction to this article has been published in BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:103

  20. Different population trajectories are expected to impact the signature of neutral and adaptive processes at multiple levels, challenging the assessment of the relative roles of different microevolutionary forc...

    Authors: Rita G. Rocha, Vanessa Magalhães, José V. López-Bao, Wessel van der Loo, Luis Llaneza, Francisco Alvares, Pedro J. Esteves and Raquel Godinho
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:90
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  21. DNA barcoding has been developed as a useful tool for species discrimination. Several sequence-based species delimitation methods, such as Barcode Index Number (BIN), REfined Single Linkage (RESL), Automatic B...

    Authors: Zhijun Zhou, Huifang Guo, Li Han, Jinyan Chai, Xuting Che and Fuming Shi
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:79
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  22. Synbranchidae or swamp eels are fishes belonging to the order Synbranchiformes that occur in both freshwater and occasionally in brackish. They are worldwide distributed in tropical and subtropical rivers of f...

    Authors: Weerayuth Supiwong, Krit Pinthong, Kriengkrai Seetapan, Pasakorn Saenjundaeng, Luiz A. C. Bertollo, Ezequiel A. de Oliveira, Cassia F. Yano, Thomas Liehr, Sumalee Phimphan, Alongklod Tanomtong and Marcelo B Cioffi
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:73
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  23. Much of the debate over the evolutionary consequences of hybridization on genetic divergence and speciation results from the breakdown or reinforcement of reproductive barriers in secondary hybrid zones. Among...

    Authors: Wan-Jin Liao, Bi-Ru Zhu, Yue-Fei Li, Xiao-Meng Li, Yan-Fei Zeng and Da-Yong Zhang
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:70
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  24. The molecular basis of the incipient stage of speciation is still poorly understood. Cichlid fish species in Lake Victoria are a prime example of recent speciation events and a suitable system to study the ada...

    Authors: Shohei Takuno, Ryutaro Miyagi, Jun-ichi Onami, Shiho Takahashi-Kariyazono, Akie Sato, Herbert Tichy, Masato Nikaido, Mitsuto Aibara, Shinji Mizoiri, Hillary D. J. Mrosso, Semvua I. Mzighani, Norihiro Okada and Yohey Terai
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:68
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  25. Examples of rapid evolution are common in nature but difficult to account for with the standard population genetic model of adaptation. Instead, selection from the standing genetic variation permits rapid adap...

    Authors: David I. Dayan, Xiao Du, Tara Z. Baris, Dominique N. Wagner, Douglas L. Crawford and Marjorie F. Oleksiak
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:61
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  26. Alternative reproductive tactics (ARTs) are taxonomically pervasive strategies adopted by individuals to maximize reproductive success within populations. Even for conditionally-dependent traits, consensus pos...

    Authors: K. A. Stewart, R. Draaijer, M. R. Kolasa and I. M. Smallegange
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:58
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  27. Micro RNAs (miRNAs), a class of small non-coding RNAs, have been implicated in various aspects of plant development. miR394 is required for shoot apical meristem organization, stem cell maintenance and abiotic...

    Authors: Ashutosh Kumar, Vibhav Gautam, Pramod Kumar, Shalini Mukherjee, Swati Verma and Ananda K. Sarkar
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:55
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  28. The evolutionary history of a species is frequently derived from molecular sequences, and the resulting phylogenetic trees do not include explicit functional information. Here, we aimed to assess the functiona...

    Authors: Agustín Estrada-Peña and Alejandro Cabezas-Cruz
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:54
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  29. During the modern human expansion, new environmental pressures may have driven adaptation, especially in genes related to the perception of ingested substances and their detoxification. Consequently, positive ...

    Authors: Begoña Dobon, Carla Rossell, Sandra Walsh and Jaume Bertranpetit
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:39
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  30. At the very end of the larval stage Drosophila expectorate a glue secreted by their salivary glands to attach themselves to a substrate while pupariating. The glue is a mixture of apparently unrelated proteins, s...

    Authors: Jean-Luc Da Lage, Gregg W. C. Thomas, Magalie Bonneau and Virginie Courtier-Orgogozo
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:36
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  31. The gene for odontogenic ameloblast-associated (ODAM) is a member of the secretory calcium-binding phosphoprotein gene family. ODAM is primarily expressed in dental tissues including the enamel organ and the junc...

    Authors: Mark S. Springer, Christopher A. Emerling, John Gatesy, Jason Randall, Matthew A. Collin, Nikolai Hecker, Michael Hiller and Frédéric Delsuc
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:31
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  32. Western house mice Mus musculus domesticus are among the most important mammalian model species for chromosomal speciation. Hybrids between chromosomal races of M. m. domesticus suffer various degrees of fertilit...

    Authors: Sofia A. Grize, Elodie Wilwert, Jeremy B. Searle and Anna K. Lindholm
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:25
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  33. The genetic mechanisms underlying the domestication of animals and plants have been of great interest to biologists since Darwin. To date, little is known about the global pattern of gene expression changes du...

    Authors: Wei Liu, Lei Chen, Shilai Zhang, Fengyi Hu, Zheng Wang, Jun Lyu, Bao Wang, Hui Xiang, Ruoping Zhao, Zhixi Tian, Song Ge and Wen Wang
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:19
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  35. Genes of the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) are essential for adaptive immune response in vertebrates, as they encode receptors that recognize peptides derived from the processing of intracellular (MHC...

    Authors: Piotr Minias, Ewa Pikus and Dariusz Anderwald
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:2
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  38. Seminal plasma proteins are associated with successful fertilization. However, their evolutionary correlation with fertilization mechanisms remains unclear. Cichlids from Lake Tanganyika show a variety-rich sp...

    Authors: Masaya Morita, Stanley Ifeanyi Ugwu and Masanori Kohda
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2018 18:197
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  39. Mature male parr (MMP) represent an important alternative life-history strategy in Atlantic salmon populations. Previous studies indicate that the maturation size threshold for male parr varies among wild popu...

    Authors: A. C. Harvey, O. T. Skilbrei, F. Besnier, M. F. Solberg, A.-G. E. Sørvik and K. A. Glover
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2018 18:188
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  40. Divergent selection has been shown to promote speciation in many taxa and especially in phytophagous insects. In the Ostrinia species complex, the European corn borer (ECB) and adzuki bean borer (ABB) are two sib...

    Authors: M. Orsucci, P. Audiot, S. Nidelet, F. Dorkeld, A. Pommier, M. Vabre, D. Severac, M. Rohmer, B. Gschloessl and R. Streiff
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2018 18:145
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  41. Microhabitat changes are thought to be among the main drivers of diversification. However, this conclusion is mostly based on studies on vertebrates. Here, we investigate the influence of microhabitat on diver...

    Authors: Jonas Eberle, Dimitar Dimitrov, Alejandro Valdez-Mondragón and Bernhard A. Huber
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2018 18:141
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  42. The processes leading to the diversity of over 7000 present-day languages have been the subject of scholarly interest for centuries. Several factors have been suggested to contribute to the spatial segregation...

    Authors: Terhi Honkola, Kalle Ruokolainen, Kaj J. J. Syrjänen, Unni-Päivä Leino, Ilpo Tammi, Niklas Wahlberg and Outi Vesakoski
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2018 18:132
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  43. Genes underlying signal production and reception are expected to evolve to maximize signal detection in specific environments. Fireflies vary in their light signal color both within and between species, and th...

    Authors: Sarah E. Lower, Kathrin F. Stanger-Hall and David W. Hall
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2018 18:129
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  44. Understanding the mechanisms that underlie the diversification of herbivores through interactions with their hosts is important for their diversity assessment and identification of expansion events, particular...

    Authors: Anna Skoracka, Luís Filipe Lopes, Maria Judite Alves, Adam Miller, Mariusz Lewandowski, Wiktoria Szydło, Agnieszka Majer, Elżbieta Różańska and Lechosław Kuczyński
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2018 18:122
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  45. One of the most perplexing questions in evolutionary biology is why some lineages diversify into many species, and others do not. In many cases, ecological opportunity has played an important role, leading to ...

    Authors: Kimberly L. Foster and Kyle R. Piller
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2018 18:116
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  46. Populations that have repeatedly colonized novel environments are useful for studying the role of ecology in adaptive divergence – particularly if some individuals persist in the ancestral habitat. Such “conte...

    Authors: Matthew R. J. Morris, Ella Bowles, Brandon E. Allen, Heather A. Jamniczky and Sean M. Rogers
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2018 18:113
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  47. Species with a restricted geographic distribution, and highly specialized habitat and dietary requirements, are particularly vulnerable to extinction. The Bale monkey (Chlorocebus djamdjamensis) is a little-known...

    Authors: Addisu Mekonnen, Eli K. Rueness, Nils Chr. Stenseth, Peter J. Fashing, Afework Bekele, R. Adriana Hernandez-Aguilar, Rose Missbach, Tanja Haus, Dietmar Zinner and Christian Roos
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2018 18:106
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  48. The processes through which populations originate and diversify ecologically in the initial stages of adaptive radiation are little understood because we lack information on critical steps of early divergence....

    Authors: Darko D. Cotoras, Ke Bi, Michael S. Brewer, David R. Lindberg, Stefan Prost and Rosemary G. Gillespie
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2018 18:100
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  49. In host-parasite systems, relative dispersal rates condition genetic novelty within populations and thus their adaptive potential. Knowledge of host and parasite dispersal rates can therefore help us to unders...

    Authors: Anaïs S. C. Appelgren, Verena Saladin, Heinz Richner, Blandine Doligez and Karen D. McCoy
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2018 18:99
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  50. The spatial distribution of genetic diversity and structure has important implications for conservation as it reveals a species’ strong and weak points with regard to stability and evolutionary capacity. Tempo...

    Authors: Alexander Jueterbock, James A. Coyer, Jeanine L. Olsen and Galice Hoarau
    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2018 18:94
    Content type: Research article Published on:
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