Ecological and geographical speciation in Lucilia bufonivora: The evolution of amphibian obligate parasitism.

ABSTRACT: Lucilia (Diptera: Calliphoridae) is a genus of blowflies comprised largely of saprophagous and facultative parasites of livestock. Lucilia bufonivora, however, exhibits a unique form of obligate parasitism of amphibians, typically affecting wild hosts. The evolutionary route by which amphibian myiasis arose, however, is not well understood due to the low phylogenetic resolution in existing nuclear DNA phylogenies. Furthermore, the timing of when specificity for amphibian hosts arose in L. bufonivora is also unknown. In addition, this species was recently reported for the first time in North America (Canada) and, to date, no molecular studies have analysed the evolutionary relationships between individuals from Eastern and Western hemispheres. To provide broader insights into

SUBMITTER: Arias-Robledo G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6812060 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature