Molecular Phylogeny of Grassland Caterpillars (Lepidoptera: Lymantriinae: Gynaephora) Endemic to the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.

ABSTRACT: Gynaephora (Lepidoptera Erebidae: Lymantriinae) is a small genus, consisting of 15 nominated species, of which eight species are endemic to the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP). In this study, we employed both mitochondrial and nuclear loci to infer a molecular phylogeny for the eight QTP Gynaephora spp. We used the phylogeny to estimate divergence dates in a molecular dating analysis and to delimit species. This information allowed us to investigate associations between the diversification history of the eight QTP species and geological and climatic events. Phylogenetic analyses indicated that the eight QTP species formed a monophyletic group with strong supports in both Bayesian and maximum likelihood analyses. The low K2P genetic distances between the eight QTP species suggested that diver

SUBMITTER: Yuan ML 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4459697 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature