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MBE Advance Access originally published online on November 20, 2008
Molecular Biology and Evolution 2009 26(2):421-431; doi:10.1093/molbev/msn266
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© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Research Articles

Genetic Diversity in the Paramecium aurelia Species Complex

Francesco Catania*, François Wurmser{dagger},{ddagger}, Alexey A. Potekhin§, Ewa Przybos|| and Michael Lynch*

* Department of Biology, Indiana University
{dagger} Laboratory Evolution, Genomes and Speciation; CNRS-UPR9034, Gif sur Yvette Cedex, France
{ddagger} Universitè Paris-Sud 11, 91405 Orsay Cedex, France
§ Laboratory of Protozoan Karyology, Faculty of Biology and Soil Science, St Petersburg State University; Oranienbaumskoye sh., 2, Stary Peterhof, 198504 Saint Petersburg, Russia
|| Department of Experimental Zoology, Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków, Poland

E-mail: fcatania{at}indiana.edu.

Accepted for publication November 11, 2008.

Current understanding of the population genetics of free-living unicellular eukaryotes is limited, and the amount of genetic variability in these organisms is still a matter of debate. We characterized—reproductively and genetically—worldwide samples of multiple Paramecium species belonging to a cryptic species complex, Paramecium aurelia, whose species have been shown to be reproductively isolated. We found that levels of genetic diversity both in the nucleus and in the mitochondrion are substantial within groups of reproductively compatible P. aurelia strains but drop considerably when strains are partitioned according to their phylogenetic groupings. Our study reveals the existence of discrepancies between the mating behavior of a number of P. aurelia strains and their multilocus genetic profile, a controversial finding that has major consequences for both the current methods of species assignment and the species problem in the P. aurelia complex.

Key Words: Paramecium • genetic diversity • effective population size • speciation • cryptic species • mating group switching

Laura Katz, Associate Editor


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