| 1. |
- Alström, Per, et al.
(författare)
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Comprehensive molecular phylogeny of the grassbirds and allies (Locustellidae) reveals extensive non-monophyly of traditional genera, and a proposal for a new classification
- 2018
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Ingår i: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. - : Elsevier BV. - 1055-7903 .- 1095-9513. ; 127, s. 367-375
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The widespread Old World avian family Locustellidae ('grassbirds and allies') comprises 62 extant species in 11 genera. In the present study, we used one mitochondrial and, for most species, four nuclear loci to infer the phylogeny of this family. We analysed 59 species, including the five previously unsampled genera plus two genera that had not before been analysed in a densely sampled dataset. This study revealed extensive disagreement with current taxonomy; the genera Bradypterus, Locustella, Megalurus, Megalurulus and Schoenicola were all found to be non-monophyletic. Non-monophyly was particularly pronounced for Megalurus, which was widely scattered across the tree. Three of the five monotypic genera (Amphilais, Buettikoferella and Malia) were nested within other genera; one monotypic genus (Chaetornis) formed a Glade with one of the two species of Schoenicola; whereas the position of the fifth monotypic genus (Elaphrornis) was unresolved. Robsonius was confirmed as sister to the other genera. We propose a phylogenetically informed revision of genus-level taxonomy, including one new generic name. Finally, we highlight several non-monophyletic species complexes and deep intra-species divergences that point to conflict in taxonomy and suggest an underestimation of current species diversity in this group.
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| 2. |
- Alström, Per, et al.
(författare)
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Multiple species within the Striated Prinia Prinia crinigera-Brown Prinia P. polychroa complex revealed through an integrative taxonomic approach
- 2020
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Ingår i: Ibis. - : Wiley. - 0019-1019 .- 1474-919X. ; 162:3, s. 936-967
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We re-evaluated the taxonomy of the Striated Prinia Prinia crinigera-Brown Prinia P. polychroa complex using molecular, morphological and vocal analyses. The extensive seasonal, sexual, age-related, geographical and taxon-specific variation in this complex has never before been adequately studied. As no previous genetic or vocal analyses have focused on this group, misinterpretation of taxonomic signals from limited conventional morphological study alone was likely. Using mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, we found that P. crinigera sensu lato (s.l.) comprises two non-sister groups of taxa (Himalayan crinigera and Chinese striata groups) that differ substantially morphologically and vocally and that are broadly sympatric in Yunnan Province, China. Prinia polychroa cooki (Myanmar) and P. p. rocki (southern Vietnam) are each morphologically, vocally and genetically distinct. Thai, Cambodian and Laotian populations formerly ascribed to P. p. cooki are morphologically and vocally most similar to and most closely related to Javan P. p. polychroa, and require a new name, proposed here. Prinia p. bangsi of Yunnan is part of the crinigera group rather than of P. polychroa, and hence there is no evidence for sympatry between P. polychroa s.l. and P. crinigera s.l., nor of the occurrence of P. polychroa in mainland China or Taiwan. We recommend the recognition of five species in the complex, with the following suggestions for new English names: Himalayan Prinia P. crinigera sensu stricto (s.s.; with subspecies striatula, crinigera, yunnanensis and bangsi); Chinese Prinia P. striata (subspecies catharia, parumstriata and striata); Burmese Prinia P. cooki (monotypic); Annam Prinia P. rocki (monotypic) and Deignan's Prinia P. polychroa s.s. (subspecies Javan polychroa and the new Southeast Asian taxon). This study underlines the importance of using multiple datasets for the elucidation of diversity of cryptic bird species and their evolutionary history and biogeography.
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| 3. |
- Alström, Per, Professor, et al.
(författare)
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Phylogeny and classification of the avian superfamily Sylvioidea
- 2006
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Ingår i: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. - Swedish Museum Nat Hist, Dept Vertebrate Zool, SE-10405 Stockholm, Sweden. Swedish Museum Nat Hist, Mol Systemat Lab, SE-10405 Stockholm, Sweden. Uppsala Univ, Evolutionary Biol Ctr, Dept Systemat Zool, SE-75236 Uppsala, Sweden. Univ Gothenburg, Dept Zool, SE-40530 Gothenburg, Sweden. : Elsevier BV. - 1055-7903 .- 1095-9513. ; 38:2, s. 381-397
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Sylvioidea is one of the three superfamilies recognized within the largest avian radiation, the parvorder Passerida. In the present study, which is the first taxon-dense analysis of the Sylvioidea based on sequence data (nuclear myoglobin intron II and mitochondrial cytochrome b gene), we investigate the interrelationships among the four "sylvioid" clades found by previous workers, as well as the relationships within the largest of these clades. The nuclear and mitochondrial loci estimate basically the same phylogeny, with minor differences in resolution. The trees based on myoglobin and the combined data identify a strongly supported clade that includes the taxa previously allocated to Sylvioidea, except for Sitta (nuthatches), Certhia (treecreepers), Parus (tits), Remiz (penduline tits), Troglodytes and Campylorhynchus (wrens), Polioptila (gnatcatchers), and Regulus (crests/kinglets); this clade also comprises larks, which have previously been placed in the superfamily Passeroidea. We refer to this clade as Sylvioidea. This clade is further divided into 10 main, well-supported clades, which we suggest form the basis for a revised classification. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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| 4. |
- Alström, Per, Professor, et al.
(författare)
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Systematics of the avian family Alaudidae using multilocus and genomic data
- 2023
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Ingår i: Avian Research. - : Elsevier BV. - 2053-7166. ; 14
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The family Alaudidae, larks, comprises 93–100 species (depending on taxonomy) that are widely distributed across Africa and Eurasia, with single species extending their ranges to North and northernmost South America and Australia. A decade-old molecular phylogeny, comprising ∼80% of the species, revealed multiple cases of parallel evolution and large variation in rates of morphological evolution, which had misled taxonomists into creating many non-monophyletic genera. Here, we reconstruct the phylogeny of the larks, using a dataset covering one mitochondrial and 16 nuclear loci and comprising all except one of the currently recognised species as well as several recently proposed new species (in total 133 taxa; not all loci available for all species). We provide additional support using genome-wide markers to infer a genus-level phylogeny based on near-complete generic sampling (in total 51 samples of 44 taxa across 40 species). Our results confirm the previous findings of rampant morphological convergence and divergence, and reveal new cases of paraphyletic genera. We propose a new subfamily classification, and also that the genus Mirafra is divided into four genera to produce a more balanced generic classification of the Alaudidae. Our study supports recently proposed species splits as well as some recent lumps, while also questioning some of the latter. This comprehensive phylogeny will form an important basis for future studies, such as comparative studies of lark natural history, ecology, evolution and conservation.
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| 5. |
- Crous, P. W., et al.
(författare)
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Fusarium : more than a node or a foot-shaped basal cell
- 2021
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Ingår i: Studies in mycology. - : CENTRAALBUREAU SCHIMMELCULTURE. - 0166-0616 .- 1872-9797. ; :98
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recent publications have argued that there are potentially serious consequences for researchers in recognising distinct genera in the terminal fusarioid clade of the family Nectriaceae. Thus, an alternate hypothesis, namely a very broad concept of the genus Fusarium was proposed. In doing so, however, a significant body of data that supports distinct genera in Nectriaceae based on morphology, biology, and phylogeny is disregarded. A DNA phylogeny based on 19 orthologous protein-coding genes was presented to support a very broad concept of Fusarium at the F1 node in Nectriaceae. Here, we demonstrate that re-analyses of this dataset show that all 19 genes support the F3 node that represents Fusarium sensu stricto as defined by F. sambucinum (sexual morph synonym Gibberella pulicaris). The backbone of the phylogeny is resolved by the concatenated alignment, but only six of the 19 genes fully support the F1 node, representing the broad circumscription of Fusarium. Furthermore, a re-analysis of the concatenated dataset revealed alternate topologies in different phylogenetic algorithms, highlighting the deep divergence and unresolved placement of various Nectriaceae lineages proposed as members of Fusarium. Species of Fusarium s. str. are characterised by Gibberella sexual morphs, asexual morphs with thin- or thick-walled macroconidia that have variously shaped apical and basal cells, and trichothecene mycotoxin production, which separates them from other fusarioid genera. Here we show that the Wollenweber concept of Fusarium presently accounts for 20 segregate genera with clear-cut synapomorphic traits, and that fusarioid macroconidia represent a character that has been gained or lost multiple times throughout Nectriaceae. Thus, the very broad circumscription of Fusarium is blurry and without apparent synapomorphies, and does not include all genera with fusarium-like macroconidia, which are spread throughout Nectriaceae (e.g., Cosmosporella, Macroconia, Microcera). In this study four new genera are introduced, along with 18 new species and 16 new combinations. These names convey information about relationships, morphology, and ecological preference that would otherwise be lost in a broader definition of Fusarium. To assist users to correctly identify fusarioid genera and species, we introduce a new online identification database, Fusarioid-ID, accessible at www.fusarium.org. The database comprises partial sequences from multiple genes commonly used to identify fusarioid taxa (act1, CaM, his3, rpb1, rpb2, tef1, tub2, ITS, and LSU). In this paper, we also present a nomenclator of names that have been introduced in Fusarium up to January 2021 as well as their current status, types, and diagnostic DNA barcode data. In this study, researchers from 46 countries, representing taxonomists, plant pathologists, medical mycologists, quarantine officials, regulatory agencies, and students, strongly support the application and use of a more precisely delimited Fusarium (= Gibberella) concept to accommodate taxa from the robust monophyletic node F3 on the basis of a well-defined and unique combination of morphological and biochemical features. This F3 node includes, among others, species of the F. fujikuroi, F. incarnatum-equiseti, F. oxysporum, and F. sambucinum species complexes, but not species of Bisifusarium [F. dimerum species complex (SC)], Cyanonectria (F. buxicola SC), Geejayessia (F. staphyleae SC), Neocosmospora (F. solani SC) or Rectifusarium (F. ventricosum SC). The present study represents the first step to generating a new online monograph of Fusarium and allied fusarioid genera (www.fusarium.org).
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| 6. |
- Finch, B. W., et al.
(författare)
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Disjunct resident population of Melodious Lark Mirafra cheniana discovered in East Africa
- 2022
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Ingår i: Journal of Ornithology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2193-7192 .- 2193-7206. ; 164, s. 55-71
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We describe the discovery of a previously unknown population of Melodious Lark Mirafra cheniana from northern Tanzania and southern Kenya, some 2000 km north of what was previously thought to be its northern limit in central Zimbabwe. The identification of this population as M. cheniana is based primarily on analyses of mitochondrial DNA and song. We also clarify relationships within this genus by sequencing material of White-tailed Lark Mirafra albicauda for the first time; although its relationships with other species in the group remain unclear, our analyses clearly show it to be different from M. cheniana in the newly discovered population. The discovery of a population of M. cheniana in East Africa conforms to a known pattern for closely related lark species to have disjunct distributions in southern and eastern Africa.
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| 7. |
- Ghorbani, F., et al.
(författare)
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Densely sampled phylogenetic analyses of the Lesser Short-toed Lark (Alaudala rufescens) - Sand Lark (A. raytal) species complex (Aves, Passeriformes) reveal cryptic diversity
- 2020
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Ingår i: Zoologica Scripta. - : Wiley. - 0300-3256 .- 1463-6409.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The taxonomy of the Lesser/Asian Short-toed Lark Alaudala rufescens-cheleensis complex has been debated for decades, mainly because of minor morphological differentiation among the taxa within the complex, and different interpretations of the geographical pattern of morphological characters among different authors. In addition, there have been few studies based on non-morphological traits. It has recently been suggested based on a molecular study of the lark family Alaudidae that the Sand Lark A. raytal is nested within this complex. We here analysed mitochondrial cytochrome b (cyt b) from 130 individuals across the range of this complex (hereafter called Alaudala rufescens-raytal complex), representing all except two of the 18 currently recognized subspecies. We also analysed 11 nuclear markers from a subsample of these individuals, representing all of the clades found in the cyt b tree. Five primary clades were recovered, which confirmed that A. raytal is nested within this complex. Divergence time estimates among these five clades ranged from 1.76 to 3.16 million years (my; 95% highest posterior density [HPD] 1.0-4.51 my) or 1.99-2.53 my (95% HPD 0.96-4.3 my) in different analyses. Only four of the currently recognized subspecies were recovered as monophyletic in the cyt b tree. Our results call for a taxonomic revision, and we tentatively suggest that at least four species should be recognized, although we stress the need for an approach integrating molecular, morphological and other data that are not yet available.
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| 8. |
- Gunnarsson, Gunnar, et al.
(författare)
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Zero Prevalence of Influenza A Virus in Two Raptor Species by Standard Screening
- 2010
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Ingår i: Vector-borne and zoonotic diseases. - : Mary Ann Liebert Inc. - 1530-3667 .- 1557-7759. ; 10:4, s. 387-390
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Disease can have sever impact on animal populations, especially in rare species. Baseline data for atypical host species are missing for a range of infectious diseases, although such hosts are potentially more affected than the normal vectors and reservoir species. If highly pathogenic avian influenza strikes rare birds of prey, this may have crucial impact on the predator species itself, but also on the food web in which it interacts. Here we present the first large-scale screening of raptors that regularly consume birds belonging to the natural reservoir of influenza A viruses. Influenza A virus prevalence was studied in two rare raptors, the white-tailed sea eagle (Haliaetus albicilla) and the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus). Nestlings were screened for active (181 white-tailed sea eagles and 168 peregrine falcons) and past (123 white-tailed sea eagles and 6 peregrine falcons) infection in 2006-2007, and an additional 20 succumbed adult white-tailed sea eagles were sampled in 2003-2006. Neither high- nor low-pathogenic influnza infections were found in our sample, but this does not rule out that the former may have major impact on rare raptors and their food webs.
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| 9. |
- Johansson, Ulf S, et al.
(författare)
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Build-up of the Himalayan avifauna through immigration : A biogeographical analysis of the Phylloscopus and Seicercus warblers
- 2007
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Ingår i: Evolution. - : Wiley. - 0014-3820 .- 1558-5646. ; 61:2, s. 324-333
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Himalayan mountain range is one of the most species-rich areas in the world, harboring about 8% of the world's bird species. In this study, we compare the relative importance of immigration versus in situ speciation to the build-up of the Himalayan avifauna, by evaluating the biogeographic history of the Phylloscopus/Seicercus warblers, a speciose clade that is well represented in Himalayan forests. We use a comprehensive, multigene phylogeny in conjunction with dispersal-vicariance analysis to discern patterns of speciation and dispersal within this clade. The results indicate that virtually no speciation has occurred within the Himalayas. Instead, several speciation events are attributed to dispersal into the Himalayas followed by vicariance between the Himalayas and China/Southeast Asia. Most, perhaps all, of these events appear to be pre-Pleistocene. The apparent lack of speciation within the Himalayas stands in contrast to the mountain-driven Pleistocene speciation suggested for the Andes and the East African mountains.
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| 10. |
- Nilsson, R. Henrik, 1976, et al.
(författare)
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Improving ITS sequence data for identification of plant pathogenic fungi
- 2014
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Ingår i: Fungal Diversity. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1560-2745 .- 1878-9129. ; 67:1, s. 11-19
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Plant pathogenic fungi are a large and diverse assemblage of eukaryotes with substantial impacts on natural ecosystems and human endeavours. These taxa often have complex and poorly understood life cycles, lack observable, discriminatory morphological characters, and may not be amenable to in vitro culturing. As a result, species identification is frequently difficult. Molecular (DNA sequence) data have emerged as crucial information for the taxonomic identification of plant pathogenic fungi, with the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region being the most popular marker. However, international nucleotide sequence databases are accumulating numerous sequences of compromised or low-resolution taxonomic annotations and substandard technical quality, making their use in the molecular identification of plant pathogenic fungi problematic. Here we report on a concerted effort to identify high-quality reference sequences for various plant pathogenic fungi and to re-annotate incorrectly or insufficiently annotated public ITS sequences from these fungal lineages. A third objective was to enrich the sequences with geographical and ecological metadata. The results – a total of 31,954 changes – are incorporated in and made available through the UNITE database for molecular identification of fungi (http://unite.ut.ee), including standalone FASTA files of sequence data for local BLAST searches, use in the next-generation sequencing analysis platforms QIIME and mothur, and related applications. The present initiative is just a beginning to cover the wide spectrum of plant pathogenic fungi, and we invite all researchers with pertinent expertise to join the annotation effort.
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