| 1. |
- Sigvald, Roland, et al.
(författare)
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Molecular identification of bloodmeals and species composition in Culicoides biting midges
- 2013
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Ingår i: Medical and Veterinary Entomology. - : Wiley. - 0269-283X .- 1365-2915. ; 27, s. 104-112
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Investigations of host preferences in haematophagous insects, including Culicoides biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), are critical in order to assess transmission routes of vector-borne diseases. In this study, we collected and morphologically identified 164 blood-engorged Culicoides females caught in both light traps and permanent 12-m high suction traps during 20082010 in Sweden. Molecular analysis of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene in the biting midges was performed to verify species classification, discern phylogenetic relationships and uncover possible cryptic species. Bloodmeal analysis using universal vertebrate cytochrome b primers revealed a clear distinction in host selection between mammalophilic and ornithophilic Culicoides species. Host sequences found matches in horse (n = 59), sheep (n = 39), cattle (n = 26), Eurasian elk (n = 1) and 10 different bird species (n = 18). We identified 15 Culicoides species previously recorded in Scandinavia and four additional species haplotypes that were distinctly different from the described species. All ornithophilic individuals (n = 23) were caught exclusively in the suction traps, as were, interestingly, almost all mammalophilic species (n = 41), indicating that many biting midge species may be able to cover long distances after completing a bloodmeal. These results add new information on the composition of Culicoides species and their host preferences and their potential long-distance dispersal while blood-engorged.
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| 2. |
- Zhao, M., et al.
(författare)
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Phylogenetic position of the Wallcreeper Tichodroma muraria
- 2016
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Ingår i: Journal of Ornithology = Journal fur Ornithologie. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0021-8375 .- 1439-0361. ; 157:3, s. 913-918
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Wallcreeper Tichodroma muraria is usually placed in a monotypic family or subfamily within the superfamily Certhioidea, with assumed close relationships to Certhia (treecreepers), Sitta (nuthatches) and Salpornis (spotted creepers). Previous studies have suggested that Tichodroma is most closely related to Sitta, alternatively to Salpornis. We analysed the relationships of Tichodroma using two mitochondrial and five nuclear loci. The tree based on concatenated sequences strongly supported a sister relationship between Tichodroma and Sitta, as well as between Salpornis and Certhia. However, species tree analysis (MP-EST) was unable to resolve these relationships, and although the concatenation tree remains the best hypothesis, more data are needed to corroborate this. © 2016, Dt. Ornithologen-Gesellschaft e.V.
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| 3. |
- Hooper, D. M., et al.
(författare)
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The Rusty-tailed Flycatcher (Muscicapa ruficauda; Ayes: Muscicapidae) is a member of the genus Ficedula
- 2016
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Ingår i: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. - : Elsevier BV. - 1055-7903 .- 1095-9513. ; 102, s. 56-61
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The phylogenetic relationships of the avian family Muscicapidae (Old World chats and flycatchers) have historically been enigmatic and remain an active area of study. Widespread instances of non-monophyly resulting from misleading morphological and behavioral similarities have merited numerous taxonomic revisions to the group. Here we report one such instance with regard to the Rusty-tailed Flycatcher Muscicapa ruficauda, which has recently been placed in the newly proposed monotypic genus Ripleyia, due to inferred sister relationship to the genus Muscicapa and related genera (Voelker et al., 2016a). This name was later replaced by Ripleyornis, as it was realized that Ripleyia is a junior homonym of a genus of Mollusca (Voelker et al., 2016b). Using a Bayesian phylogenetic assessment of the Muscicapidae with near-complete taxon sampling of the genus Ficedula for five loci, along with an acoustic comparison of M. ruficauda to a subset of other flycatcher species, we show that this species should be reassigned to the genus Ficedula and accordingly that the names Ripleyia and Ripleyornis are both junior synonyms of Ficedula. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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| 4. |
- Li, Xinlei, et al.
(författare)
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Shaped by uneven Pleistocene climate: mitochondrial phylogeographic pattern and population history of White Wagtail Motacilla alba (Aves: Passeriformes).
- 2016
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Ingår i: Journal of Avian Biology. - : Wiley. - 0908-8857 .- 1600-048X. ; 47, s. 263-274
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We studied the phylogeography and population history of the white wagtail Motacilla alba, which has a vast breeding range, covering areas with different Pleistocene climatic histories. The mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit II gene (ND2) and Control Region (CR) were analyzed for 273 individuals from 45 localities. Our data comprised all nine subspecies of white wagtail. Four primary clades were inferred (M, N, SW and SE), with indications of M. grandis being nested within M. alba. The oldest split was between two haplotypes from the endemic Moroccan M. a. subpersonata (clade M) and the others, at 0.63–0.96 Mya; other divergences were at 0.31–0.38 Mya. The entire differentiation falls within the part of the Pleistocene characterized by Milankovitch cycles of large amplitudes and durations. Clade N was distributed across the northern Palearctic; clade SW in southwestern Asia plus the British Isles and was predicted by Ecological niche models (ENMs) to occur also in central and south Europe; and clade SE was distributed in central and east Asia. e deep divergence within M. a. subpersonata may reflect retention of ancestral haplotypes. Regional differences in historical climates have had different impacts on different populations: clade N expanded after the last glacial maximum (LGM), whereas milder Pleistocene climate of east Asia allowed clade SE a longer expansion time (since MIS 5); clade SW expanded over a similarly long time as clade SE, which is untypical for European species. ENMs supported these conclusions in that the northern part of the Eurasian continent was unsuitable during the LGM, whereas southern parts remained suitable. e recent divergences and poor structure in the mitochondrial tree contrasts strongly with the pronounced, well defined phenotypical differentiation, indicating extremely fast plumage divergence.
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| 5. |
- Olsson, Urban, 1954, et al.
(författare)
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Mitochondrial phylogeny of the Eurasian/African reed warbler complex (Acrocephalus, Aves). Disagreement between morphological and molecular evidence and cryptic divergence: A case for resurrecting Calamoherpe ambigua Brehm 1857
- 2016
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Ingår i: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. - : Elsevier BV. - 1055-7903 .- 1095-9513. ; 102, s. 30-44
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A tree based on the mitochondrial cyt b gene for 278 samples from throughout the range of the Eurasian Reed Warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus - African Reed Warbler A. baeticatus complex shows well supported geographically structured divergence for eight distinct lineages. The phylogenetic structuring together with the clarification of priority, provided by sequence data from seven type specimens, suggests that both taxonomy and distribution boundaries are in need of revision. The Iberian and Moroccan populations form a well-supported Glade, and we propose that these are treated as taxonomically distinct, under the name ambiguus (Brehm, 1857). We propose that the names scirpaceus, fuscus, avicenniae, ambiguus, minor, cinnamomeus, hallae and baeticatus are used for the well supported clades in the complex, which we recommend to treat as one polytypic species, A. scirpaceus, pending studies of gene flow and assortative mating in the contact zones. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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| 6. |
- Wintersparv Stervander, Martin, et al.
(författare)
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Multiple instances of paraphyletic species and cryptic taxa revealed by mitochondrial and nuclear RAD data for Calandrella larks (Aves: Alaudidae)
- 2016
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Ingår i: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. - : Elsevier BV. - 1055-7903 .- 1095-9513. ; 102, s. 233-245
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The avian genus Calandrella (larks) was recently suggested to be non-monophyletic, and was divided into two genera, of which Calandrella sensu stricto comprises 4-5 species in Eurasia and Africa. We analysed mitochondrial cytochrome b (cytb) and nuclear Restriction-site Associated DNA (RAD) sequences from all species, and for cytb we studied 21 of the 22 recognised subspecies, with the aim to clarify the phylogenetic relationships within the genus and to compare large-scale nuclear sequence patterns with a widely used mitochondrial marker. Cytb indicated deep splits among the currently recognised species, although it failed to support the interrelationships among most of these. It also revealed unexpected deep divergences within C. brachydactyla, C. blanfordi/C erlangeri, C. cinerea, and C. acutirostris. It also suggested that both C. brachydactyla and C. blanfordi, as presently circumscribed, are paraphyletic. In contrast, most of the many subspecies of C brachydactyla and C. cinerea were unsupported by cytb, although two populations of C. cinerea were found to be genetically distinct. The RAD data corroborated the cytb tree (for the smaller number of taxa analysed) and recovered strongly supported interspecific relationships. However, coalescence analyses of the RAD data, analysed in SNAPP both with and without an outgroup, received equally strong support for two conflicting topologies. We suggest that the tree rooted with an outgroup - which is not recommended for SNAPP - is more trustworthy, and suggest that the reliability of analyses performed without any outgroup species should be thoroughly evaluated. We also demonstrate that degraded museum samples can be phylogenetically informative in RAD analyses following careful bioinformatic treatment. We note that the genus Calandrella is in need of taxonomic revision. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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| 7. |
- Alström, Per, et al.
(författare)
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Multilocus phylogeny of the avian family Alaudidae (larks) reveals complex morphological evolution, non-monophyletic genera and hidden species diversity
- 2013
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Ingår i: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. - : Elsevier BV. - 1055-7903 .- 1095-9513. ; 69:3, s. 1043-1056
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Alaudidae (larks) is a large family of songbirds in the superfamily Sylvioidea. Larks are cosmopolitan, although species-level diversity is by far largest in Africa, followed by Eurasia, whereas Australasia and the New World have only one species each. The present study is the first comprehensive phylogeny of the Alaudidae. It includes 83.5% of all species and representatives from all recognised genera, and was based on two mitochondrial and three nuclear loci (in total 6.4 kbp, although not all loci were available for all species). In addition, a larger sample, comprising several subspecies of some polytypic species was analysed for one of the mitochondrial loci. There was generally good agreement in trees inferred from different loci, although some strongly supported incongruences were noted. The tree based on the concatenated multilocus data was overall well resolved and well supported by the data. We stress the importance of performing single gene as well as combined data analyses, as the latter may obscure significant incongruence behind strong nodal support values. The multilocus tree revealed many unpredicted relationships, including some non-monophyletic genera (Calandrella, Mirafra, Melanocorypha, Spizocorys). The tree based on the extended mitochondrial data set revealed several unexpected deep divergences between taxa presently treated as conspecific (e.g. within Ammomanes cinctura, Ammomanes deserti, Calandrella brachydactyla, Eremophila alpestris), as well as some shallow splits between currently recognised species (e.g. Certhilauda brevirostris-C semitorquata-C curvirostris; Calendulauda barlowi-C. erythrochlamys; Mirafra cantillans-M. javanica). Based on our results, we propose a revised generic classification, and comment on some species limits. We also comment on the extraordinary morphological adaptability in larks, which has resulted in numerous examples of parallel evolution (e.g. in Melanocorypha mongolica and Alauda leucoptera [both usually placed in Melanocorypha]; Ammomanopsis grayi and Ammomanes cinctura/deserti [former traditionally placed in Ammomanes]; Chersophilus duponti and Certhilauda spp.; Eremopterix hova [usually placed in Mirafra] and several Mirafra spp.), as well as both highly conserved plumages (e.g. within Mirafra) and strongly divergent lineages (e.g. Eremopterix hova vs. other Eremopterix spp.; Calandrella cinerea complex vs. Eremophila spp.; Eremalauda dunni vs. Chersophilus duponti; Melanocorypha mongolica and male M. yeltoniensis vs. other Melanocoupha spp. and female M. yeltoniensis). Sexual plumage dimorphism has evolved multiple times. Few groups of birds show the same level of disagreement between taxonomy based on morphology and phylogenetic relationships as inferred from DNA sequences. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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| 8. |
- Lindahl, Björn, et al.
(författare)
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Fungal community analysis by high-throughput sequencing of amplified markers – a user's guide
- 2013
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Ingår i: New Phytologist. - : Wiley. - 0028-646X .- 1469-8137. ; 199:1, s. 288-299
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- * Novel high-throughput sequencing methods outperform earlier approaches in terms of resolution and magnitude. They enable identification and relative quantification of community members and offer new insights into fungal community ecology. These methods are currently taking over as the primary tool to assess fungal communities of plant-associated endophytes, pathogens, and mycorrhizal symbionts, as well as free-living saprotrophs. * Taking advantage of the collective experience of six research groups, we here review the different stages involved in fungal community analysis, from field sampling via laboratory procedures to bioinformatics and data interpretation. We discuss potential pitfalls, alternatives, and solutions. * Highlighted topics are challenges involved in: obtaining representative DNA/RNA samples and replicates that encompass the targeted variation in community composition, selection of marker regions and primers, options for amplification and multiplexing, handling of sequencing errors, and taxonomic identification. * Without awareness of methodological biases, limitations of markers, and bioinformatics challenges, large-scale sequencing projects risk yielding artificial results and misleading conclusions.
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| 9. |
- Andersson, Martin O., et al.
(författare)
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Molecular detection of Babesia capreoli and Babesia venatorum in wild Swedish roe deer, Capreolus capreolus
- 2016
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Ingår i: Parasites & Vectors. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1756-3305. ; 9:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: The epidemiology of the zoonotic tick-transmitted parasite Babesia spp. and its occurrence in wild reservoir hosts in Sweden is unclear. In European deer, several parasite species, including Babesia capreoli and the zoonotic B. venatorum and B. divergens has been reported previously. The European roe deer, Capreolus capreolus, is an important and common part of the indigenous fauna in Europe, as well as an important host for Ixodes ricinus ticks, the vector of several Babesia spp. in Europe. Here, we aimed to investigate the occurrence of Babesia spp. in roe deer in Sweden. Findings: Roe deer (n = 77) were caught and sampled for blood. Babesia spp. was detected with a PCR assay targeting the 18S rRNA gene. The prevalence of Babesia spp. was 52 %, and two species were detected; B. capreoli and B. venatorum in 44 and 7.8 % of the individuals, respectively. Infection occurred both in summer and winter. Conclusions: We showed that roe deer in Sweden, close to the edge of their northern inland distributional range, are infected with Babesia spp. The occurrence of B. venatorum in roe deer imply that it is established in Sweden and the zoonotic implication of this finding should be regarded to a greater extent in future.
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| 10. |
- Ivarsson, Magnus, et al.
(författare)
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Anaerobic fungi: a potential source of biological H2 in the oceanic crust.
- 2016
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Microbiology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1664-302X. ; 7:674, s. 1-8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The recent recognition of fungi in the oceanic igneous crust challenges the understanding of this environment as being exclusively prokaryotic and forces reconsiderations of the ecology of the deep biosphere. Anoxic provinces in the igneous crust are abundant and increase with age and depth of the crust. The presence of anaerobic fungi in deep-sea sediments and on the seafloor introduces a type of organism with attributes of geobiological significance not previously accounted for. Anaerobic fungi are best known from the rumen of herbivores where they produce molecular hydrogen, which in turn stimulates the growth of methanogens. The symbiotic cooperation between anaerobic fungi and methanogens in the rumen enhance the metabolic rate and growth of both. Methanogens and other hydrogen-consuming anaerobic archaea are known from subseafloor basalt; however, the abiotic production of hydrogen is questioned to be sufficient to support such communities. Alternatively, biologically produced hydrogen could serve as a continuous source. Here, we propose anaerobic fungi as a source of bioavailable hydrogen in the oceanic crust, and a close interplay between anaerobic fungi and hydrogen-driven prokaryotes.
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