Molecular Biology and Evolution, Vol 5, 717-728, Copyright © 1988 by Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution
A Latorre, E Barrio, A Moya and FJ Ayala
We report a restriction-site study of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of
seven species of the Drosophila obscura group. One species (D. azteca)
belongs to the affinis subgroup; the other six species are classified in
the obscura subgroup, three of them being from the old-world species (D.
obscura, D. ambigua, and D. subobscura) and three from the new- world
species (D. pseudoobscura, D. persimilis, and D. miranda). The mtDNA
patterns suggest that the phylogeny of the group needs to be revised. The
Nearctic obscura species appear as more closely related to D. azteca
(affinis subgroup) than to the Palearctic species. The three Palearctic
species are, in turn, a very heterogeneous group, with D. obscura no more
closely related to D. subobscura and D. ambigua than to D. affinis or the
Nearctic obscura species. The rates of mtDNA evolution are variable: some
lineages have evolved at rates two or three times greater than others. If
an average rate of 0.5% nucleotide substitutions/Myr is assumed, the
divergence among the four main lineages in the phylogeny would have
occurred 12-15 Myr ago, during the Miocene, which is consistent with
biogeographic information.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Mitochondrial DNA evolution in the Drosophila obscura group
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine 92717.
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