DNA barcoding reveals a mysterious high species diversity of conifer-feeding aphids in the mountains of southwest China.

ABSTRACT: The mountains of southwest China are one of the hot spots of biodiversity in the world. However, the high-altitude fauna that inhabit these mountains remain a mystery. In this study, the species diversity of the aphids of the genus Cinara from the high-altitude coniferous forests was first assessed, and then the processes and the mechanisms of speciation were discussed. Three hundreds and four aphid samples that contained 3040 individuals were collected during fourteen field surveys. The molecular clusters derived from the DNA barcodes were used to explore the species diversity. Notably, the aphid alpha-diversity was high, with as many as 94 candidate species, and furthermore, 86.2% of the species collected had not been previously recorded. The centers of aphid species richness corresponde

SUBMITTER: Chen R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4738281 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature