Phylogenetic relationships of toads of the Rhinella granulosa group (Anura: Bufonidae): a molecular perspective with comments on hybridization and introgression

Author(s)

Pereyra, Martin O. ^[1] ; Baldo, Diego ^[2] ; Blotto, Boris L. ^{[3, 1]} ; Iglesias, Patricia P. ^[4] ; Thome, Maria T. C. ^[5] ; Haddad, Celio F. B. ^[5] ; Barrio-Amoros, Cesar ^[6] ; Ibanez, Roberto ^{[7, 8, 9]} ; Faivovich, Julian ^{[10, 1]}

Affiliation

^[1] Consejo Nacl Invest Cient & Tecn, Museo Argentino Ciencias Nat Bernardino Rivadavia, Div Herpetol, Buenos Aires, DF - Argentina

^[2] Univ Nacl Misiones, Lab Genet Evolut, Inst Biol Subtrop CONICET UNaM, Fac Ciencias Exactas Quim & Nat, Posadas, Misiones - Argentina

^[3] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Biociencias, Dept Zool, BR-05508090 Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[4] Univ Buenos Aires, Inst Ecol Genet & Evoluc Buenos Aires, Fac Ciencias Exactas & Nat, IEGEBA CONICET, Inst Ecol Genet & Evoluc, Buenos Aires, DF - Argentina

^[5] Univ Estadual Paulista, UNESP, Dept Zool, Inst Biociencias, BR-13506900 Rio Claro, SP - Brazil

^[6] Inst Biodiversidad Trop, Perez Zeledon 11901, San Isidro Del - Costa Rica

^[7] Smithsonian Trop Res Inst, Balboa - Panama

^[8] Univ Panama, Dept Zool, Panama City - Panama

^[9] Estafeta Univ, Circulo Herpetol Panama, Panama City - Panama

^[10] Univ Buenos Aires, Fac Ciencias Exactas & Nat, Dept Biodiversidad & Biol Expt, Buenos Aires, DF - Argentina

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: CLADISTICS; v. 32, n. 1, p. 36-53, JAN 2016.
• Web of Science Citations: 9

Abstract

The Rhinella granulosa group consists of 13 species of toads distributed throughout open areas of South America and Panama. In this paper we perform a phylogenetic analysis considering all but one species of the group, employing five nuclear and four mitochondrial genes, for up to 7910 bp per specimen. Separate phylogenetic analyses under direct optimization (DO) of nuclear and mitochondrial sequences recovered the R. granulosa group as monophyletic and revealed topological incongruence that can be explained mainly by multiple events of hybridization and introgression, both mitochondrial and nuclear. The DO combined analysis, after the exclusion of putatively introgressed or heterozygous genomes, resulted in a phylogenetic hypothesis for the R. granulosa group in which most of the species are recovered as monophyletic, but with interspecific relationships poorly supported. The optimization of morphological (adult and larval), chromosomal, and behavioural characters resulted in 12 putative phenotypic synapomorphies for this species group and some other synapomorphies for internal clades. Our results indicate the need for additional population genetic studies on R. dorbignyi and R. fernandezae to corroborate the taxonomic status of both taxa. Finally, we discuss biological and genetic characteristics of Bufonidae, as possible explanations for the common occurrence of hybridization and introgression observed in some lineages of this family. (C) The Willi Hennig Society 2015. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 13/50741-7 - Diversity and conservation of Brazilian amphibians
• Grantee: Célio Fernando Baptista Haddad
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants