Mitochondrial DNA Sequence-Based Population Genetic Structure of the Firefly, Pyrocoelia rufa (Coleoptera: Lampyridae)

Abstract

The genetic divergence, population genetic structure, and possible speciation of the Korean firefly, Pyrocoelia rufa, were investigated on the midsouthern Korean mainland, coastal islets, a remote offshore island, Jedu-do, and Tsushima Island in Japan. Analysis of DNA sequences from the mitochondrial COI protein-coding gene revealed 20 mtDNA-sequence-based haplotypes with a maximum divergence of 5.5%. Phylogenetic analyses using PAUP, PHYLIP, and networks subdivided the P. rufa into two clades (termed clade A and B) and the minimum nucleotide divergence between them was 3.7%. Clade A occurred throughout the Korean mainland and the coastal islets and Tsushima Island in Japan, whereas clade B was exclusively found on Jeju-do Island. In the analysis of the population genetic structure, clade B formed an independent phylogeographic group, but clade A was further subdivided into three groups: two covering western and eastern parts of the Korean peninsula, respectively, and the other occupying one eastern coastal islet and Japanese Tsushima Island. Considering both phylogeny and population structure of P. rufa, the Jeju-do Island population is obviously differentiated from other P. rufa populations, but the Tsushima Island population was a subset of the Korean coastal islet, Geoje. We interpreted the isolation of the Jeju-do population and the grouping of Tsushima Island with Korean coastal islets in terms of Late Pleistocene-Holocene events. The eastern-western subdivision on the Korean mainland was interpreted partially by the presence of a large major mountain range, which bisects the midpart of the Korean peninsula into western and eastern parts.

Mitochondrial genomes of two luminous beetles, Rhagophthalmus lufengensis and R. ohbai (Arthropoda, Insecta, Coleoptera)

“…Recently, Bae et al (2004) determined the mtDNA genome of a lampyrid species, Pyrocoelia rufa, from Korea. The partial sequences of mtDNA, including COI (Kim et al, 2000;Lee et al, 2003), COII (Suzuki et al, , 2004, and lrRNA (Suzuki, 1997;Kim et al, 2000;Li et al, 2006), have also been determined and used to investigate the evolutionary and biogeographic relationships of this family in East Asia. For example, phylogenetic analysis has shown that the firefly Luciola cruciata dates back ∼ 0.5 million years in the Japanese islands and that there are genetic differences between the eastern and western Japanese forms .…”

Geographic Genetic Contour of A Leaf Beetle, Chrysolina aurichalcea (Coleoptera: Chysomelidae), on the Basis of Mitochondrial COI Gene and Nuclear ITS2 Sequences

“…This estimate for COI is quite high considering other relevant studies, which utilized homologous COI gene. For example, the estimate was 0.2% for the domestic silkworm (Kim et al, 2000), 0.2% and 1.2% for two species of mushroom flies (Lee et al, 2003), and 11% for the oriental mole cricket (Kim et al, 2007a). The two firefly species and the mole cricket have been reported to have a taxonomic implication Lee et al, 2003;Kim et al, 2007).…”

Polymorphism and Genomic Structure of the A+T-Rich Region of Mitochondrial DNA in the Oriental Mole Cricket, Gryllotalpa Orientalis (Orthoptera: Gryllotalpidae)

“…Mitochondrial DNA-based population genetic structures of insect species in the Korean Peninsula have been determined for several insect species belonging to Coleoptera, Diptera, Lepidoptera, and Hymenoptera Kim et al 2001Kim et al , 2003aLee et al 2003;Yoon et al 2003). In those studies, the haplotypes of some of the species could be subdivided into two or more distinct geographic groups, thereby reflecting the genetic isolation among regions.…”