Systematics and evolution of the African butterfly genus Mylothris (Lepidoptera, Pieridae)

Warren-Gash, Haydon; Aduse‐Poku, Kwaku; Murillo‐Ramos, Leidys; Wahlberg, Niklas

doi:10.3897/nl.43.46354

“…The two genera (belonging to the families Pieridae and Nymphalidae, respectively) have diverged from each other about 97 My ago [20]. They represent two of the most species-rich genera of African butter ies, each including about 100 species [21,22]. Both Mylothris and Bicyclus butter ies share similar geographical distributions, covering the Afrotropical region [23][24][25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards unravelling Wolbachia global exchange: a contribution from the Bicyclus and Mylothris butterflies in the Afrotropics

Duplouy

¹

,

Pranter²,

Warren-Gash³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Background Phylogenetically closely related strains of maternally inherited endosymbiotic bacteria are often found in phylogenetically divergent, and geographically distant insect host species. The interspecies transfer of the symbiont Wolbachia has been thought to have occurred repeatedly, facilitating its observed global pandemic. Few ecological interactions have been proposed as potential routes for the horizontal transfer of Wolbachia within natural insect communities. These routes are however likely to act only at the local scale, but how they may support the global distribution of some Wolbachia strains remains unclear. Results Here, we characterize the Wolbachia diversity in butterflies from the tropical forest regions of central Africa to discuss transfer at both local and global scales. We show that numerous species from both the Mylothris (family Pieridae) and Bicyclus (family Nymphalidae) butterfly genera are infected with similar Wolbachia strains, despite only minor interclade contacts across the life cycles of the species within their partially overlapping ecological niches. The phylogenetic distance and differences in resource use between these genera rule out the role of ancestry, hybridization, and shared host-plants in the interspecies transfer of the symbiont. Furthermore, we could not identify any shared ecological factors to explain the presence of the strains in other arthropod species from other habitats, or even ecoregions. Conclusion Only the systematic surveys of the Wolbachia strains from entire species communities may offer the material currently lacking for understanding how Wolbachia may transfer between highly different and unrelated hosts, as well as across environmental scales.

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“…All Bicyclus , Aphysoneura and Brakefieldia specimens were collected under research permits from the Cameroonian government to Dr. Robert Tropek. Tissue material from 225 adult butterflies from 53 Mylothris species [ 22 ], 63 specimens from 21 Bicyclus species, two specimens of Aphysoneura scapulifascia , and three specimens of Brakefieldia peitho were included in the present study. The sample size for each species, and country of origin of each specimen can be found in the document available from Zenodo (doi:10.5281/zenodo.3934112).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The two genera (belonging to the families Pieridae and Nymphalidae, respectively) have diverged from each other about 97 My ago [20]. They represent two of the most species-rich genera of African butterflies, each including about 100 species [21,22]. Both Mylothris and Bicyclus butterflies share similar geographical distributions, covering the Afrotropical region [23][24][25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards unravelling Wolbachia global exchange: a contribution from the Bicyclus and Mylothris butterflies in the Afrotropics

Duplouy

¹

,

Pranter

²

,

Warren-Gash³

et al. 2020

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Phylogenetically closely related strains of maternally inherited endosymbiotic bacteria are often found in phylogenetically divergent, and geographically distant insect host species. The interspecies transfer of the symbiont Wolbachia has been thought to have occurred repeatedly, facilitating its observed global pandemic. Few ecological interactions have been proposed as potential routes for the horizontal transfer of Wolbachia within natural insect communities. These routes are however likely to act only at the local scale, but how they may support the global distribution of some Wolbachia strains remains unclear. Results Here, we characterize the Wolbachia diversity in butterflies from the tropical forest regions of central Africa to discuss transfer at both local and global scales. We show that numerous species from both the Mylothris (family Pieridae) and Bicyclus (family Nymphalidae) butterfly genera are infected with similar Wolbachia strains, despite only minor interclade contacts across the life cycles of the species within their partially overlapping ecological niches. The phylogenetic distance and differences in resource use between these genera rule out the role of ancestry, hybridization, and shared host-plants in the interspecies transfer of the symbiont. Furthermore, we could not identify any shared ecological factors to explain the presence of the strains in other arthropod species from other habitats, or even ecoregions. Conclusion Only the systematic surveys of the Wolbachia strains from entire species communities may offer the material currently lacking for understanding how Wolbachia may transfer between highly different and unrelated hosts, as well as across environmental scales.

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“…All Bicyclus, Aphysoneura and Henotesia specimens were collected under research permits from the Cameroonian government to Dr. Robert Tropek. Tissue material from 225 adult butter ies from 53 Mylothris species [19], 63 specimens from 21 Bicyclus species, two specimens of Aphysoneura scapulifascia, and three specimens of Henotesia cf. nigrescens were included in the present study.…”

Section: Materials and Methodmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The two genera (belonging to the families Pieridae and Nymphalidae, respectively) have diverged from each other about 97 My ago [17]. They represent two of the most species-rich genera of African butter ies, each including about 100 species [18,19]. Both Mylothris and Bicyclus butter ies share similar geographical distributions, covering the Afrotropical region [20][21][22].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unravelling Wolbachia global exchange: a contribution from the Bicyclus and Mylothris butterflies in the Afrotropics

Duplouy

¹

,

Pranter²,

Warren-Gash³

et al. 2020

Preprint

Self Cite

0

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Phylogenetically closely related strains of maternally inherited endosymbiotic bacteria are often found in phylogenetically divergent, and geographically distant insect host species. The interspecies transfer of the symbiont Wolbachia has been thought to have occurred repeatedly, facilitating its observed global pandemic. Few ecological interactions have been proposed as potential routes for the horizontal transfer of Wolbachia within natural insect communities. These routes are however likely to act only at the local scale, but how they may support the global distribution of some Wolbachia strains remains unclear. Results Here, we characterize the Wolbachia diversity in butterflies from the tropical forest regions of central Africa to discuss transfer at both local and global scales. We show that numerous species from both the Mylothris (family Pieridae) and Bicyclus (family Nymphalidae) butterfly genera are infected with similar Wolbachia strains, this despite only minor interclade contacts across the life cycles of the species within their partially overlapping ecological niches. The phylogenetic distance and differences in resource use between these genera rule out the role of ancestry, hybridization, and shared host-plants in the interspecies transfer of the symbiont. Furthermore, we could not identify any shared ecological factors to explain the presence of the strains in other arthropod species from other habitats, or even ecoregions. Conclusion Only the systematic surveys of the Wolbachia strains from entire species communities may offer the material currently lacking for understanding how Wolbachia may transfer between highly different and unrelated hosts, as well as across environmental scales.

show abstract

Systematics and evolution of the African butterfly genus Mylothris (Lepidoptera, Pieridae)

Cited by 8 publications

References 36 publications

Towards unravelling Wolbachia global exchange: a contribution from the Bicyclus and Mylothris butterflies in the Afrotropics

Towards unravelling Wolbachia global exchange: a contribution from the Bicyclus and Mylothris butterflies in the Afrotropics

Towards unravelling Wolbachia global exchange: a contribution from the Bicyclus and Mylothris butterflies in the Afrotropics

Unravelling Wolbachia global exchange: a contribution from the Bicyclus and Mylothris butterflies in the Afrotropics

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