Clustering of bumblebee subgenera based on interspecific genetic relationships (Hymenoptera, Apidae: Bombus and Psithyrus)

Enzyme gene differentiation was studied in 21 Bombus and five Psithyrus species from northern Europe. With the exception of the species pair Subterraneobombus subterraneus and S. distinguendus, all species can be distinguished from each other on the basis of the eleven loci examined. Species-specifi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annales zoologici fennici 1987-01, Vol.24 (1), p.19-27
Main Authors: Pamilo, Pekka, Pekkarinen, Antti, Varvio, Sirkka-Liisa
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological taxonomies
Bumblebees
Enzymes
Evolution
Evolutionary genetics
Genetic loci
Parasite hosts
Phylogenetics
Social parasitism
Statistical significance
Systematics, morphology, anatomy
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Summary:Enzyme gene differentiation was studied in 21 Bombus and five Psithyrus species from northern Europe. With the exception of the species pair Subterraneobombus subterraneus and S. distinguendus, all species can be distinguished from each other on the basis of the eleven loci examined. Species-specific staining patterns of two enzymes in Pyrobombus lapponicus (Fabricius) and P. monticola (Smith) from sympatric populations confirm the specific status of the two forms. Four algorithms were used to reconstruct the phylogenetic tree from the electrophoretic data: UPGMA, Fitch-Margoliash, Wagner parsimony and restricted maximum likelihood methods. The reliability of the UPGMA tree was evaluated by estimating variances of the branch lengths and branching points. The main results are: (1) Psithyrus species form a single cluster, supporting the monophyletic origin of the group. (2) The species of the conventional subgenera cluster together, except in the subgenus Pyrobombus. (3) The clustering of the genus Bombus does not follow the division into sections Odontobombus and Anodontobombus. The results support the previous suggestion that the subgenus Bombus is divergent from the other subgenera and indicate a phyletic relationship of the subgenera Alpigenobombus, Alpinobombus and Kallobombus with the subgenera of the section Odontobombus. Further studies are required to establish statistical significance of the emerging patterns.
ISSN:0003-455X
1797-2450