Unraveling the evolutionary history of the nematode Pristionchus pacificus: from lineage diversification to island colonization.

ABSTRACT: The hermaphroditic nematode Pristionchus pacificus is a model organism with a range of fully developed genetic tools. The species is globally widespread and highly diverse genetically, consisting of four major independent lineages (lineages A, B, C, and D). Despite its young age (∼2.1 Ma), volcanic La Réunion Island harbors all four lineages. Ecological and population genetic research studies suggest that this diversity is due to repeated independent island colonizations by P. pacificus. Here, we use model-based statistical methods to rigorously test hypotheses regarding the evolutionary history of P. pacificus. First, we employ divergence analyses to date diversification events among the four "world" lineages. Next, we examine demographic properties of a subset of four populations ("a", "

SUBMITTER: McGaughran A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3605854 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature