Reconstructing the evolutionary history of the radiation of the land snail genus Xerocrassa on Crete based on mitochondrial sequences and AFLP markers.

ABSTRACT:

Background

A non-adaptive radiation triggered by sexual selection resulted in ten endemic land snail species of the genus Xerocrassa on Crete. Only five of these species and a more widespread species are monophyletic in a mitochondrial gene tree. The reconstruction of the evolutionary history of such closely related species can be complicated by incomplete lineage sorting, introgression or inadequate taxonomy. To distinguish between the reasons for the nonmonophyly of several species in the mitochondrial gene tree we analysed nuclear AFLP markers.

Results

Whereas six of the eleven morphologically delimited Xerocrassa species from Crete are monophyletic in the mitochondrial gene tree, nine of these species are monophyletic in the tree based on AFLP markers. Only two morpholog

SUBMITTER: Sauer J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2958919 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature