ubspecies limits and hidden Wolbachia diversity in Actinote pellenea butterflie

Author(s)

Silva-Brandao, Karina L. ^[1] ; Cirino, Mariana ^[1] ; Magaldi, Luiza De Moraes ^{[2, 3]} ; Gueratto, Patricia Eyng ^{[2, 3]} ; Mattos, Ricardo Gabriel ^[3] ; Freitas, Andre V. L. ^[2]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Estadual Campinas, Ctr Biol Mol & Engn Genet, Av Candido Rondom 400, BR-13083875 Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Estadual Campinas, Inst Biol, Dept Biol Anim, Rua Monteiro Lobato 255, BR-13083862 Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[3] Univ Estadual Campinas, Programa Posgrad Ecol, Campinas, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: SYSTEMATICS AND BIODIVERSITY; v. 19, n. 8 AUG 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

Actinote pellenea is the most widespread species within the genus Actinote (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Heliconiinae: Acraeini). The species has several generations per year (multivoltine) and is also the most diversified, with 18 formally recognized subspecies, most of them morphologically distinct and geographically segregated. In the present study we investigated lineage limits of 12 subspecies of A. pellenea using sequences of one mitochondrial (COI) and one nuclear gene (EF-1 alpha) to test if nominal geographic lineages are recovered as genetically differentiated. We also surveyed for the presence of Wolbachia in all field-collected individuals of A. pellenea and characterized these bacteria using sequences of wsp and gatB. The analysis of the COI alignment failed to recover all subspecies as monophyletic and only the clade composed for A. pellenea diaguita from Tucuman, Argentina and A. pellenea pellenea from the coastal Atlantic Forest in the states of Sao Paulo and Bahia, Brazil, was differentiated as a separate lineage. We found a Wolbachia-infection frequency of 68%, in both males and females, and we propose that the presence of these endosymbionts may explain why the mitochondrial gene COI failed to delimit the subspecies of A. pellenea as monophyletic groups. We showed for the first time that these butterflies have an intermediate prevalence of Wolbachia infection. However, several aspects of this infection are still unknown and we concluded the present study with several open questions relative to the interaction between Wolbachia and A. pellenea butterflies. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 12/16266-7 - Population genomics: a new approach for studies of speciation in insects due to host use applied to the development of sustainable strategies of IPM
• Grantee: Karina Lucas da Silva-Brandão
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Young Investigators Grants
• FAPESP's process: 13/50297-0 - Dimensions US-BIOTA São Paulo: a multidisciplinary framework for biodiversity prediction in the Brazilian Atlantic forest hotspot
• Grantee: Cristina Yumi Miyaki
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 11/50225-3 - Natural history, phylogeny and conservation of Neotropical Lepidoptera
• Grantee: André Victor Lucci Freitas
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 15/24663-4 - Biogeographic and diversification patterns of the butterflies from Highlands of Southeastern Brazil
• Grantee: Luiza de Moraes Magaldi
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 18/19171-3 - Butterflies of the Atlantic Forest: a historical perspective on biogeographic patterns
• Grantee: Patrícia Eyng Gueratto
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 12/50260-6 - Structure and evolution of the Amazonian biota and its environment: an integrative approach
• Grantee: Lúcia Garcez Lohmann
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants