Phylogeny and biogeography of African Murinae based on mitochondrial and nuclear gene sequences, with a new tribal classification of the subfamily

Bioregion heterogeneity correlates with extensive mitochondrial DNA diversity in the Namaqua rock mouse, Micaelamys namaquensis (Rodentia: Muridae) from southern Africa--evidence for a species complex

BACKGROUND

Intraspecific variation within the diverse southern African murine rodents has not been extensively investigated, yet cryptic diversity is evident in several taxa studied to date. The Namaqua rock mouse, Micaelamys namaquensis Smith, 1834 is a widespread endemic murine rodent from the subregion. Currently, a single species with four subspecies is recognised, but in the past up to 16 subspecies were described. Thus, this species is a good candidate for the investigation of patterns and processes of diversification in a diverse but under-studied mammalian subfamily and geographic region. Here, we report genetic differentiation based on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) cytochrome b (cyt b) sequences among samples collected over an extensive coverage of the species' range.

RESULTS

Cytochrome b sequences of 360 widely sampled individuals identified 137 unique maternal alleles. Gene tree and phylogeographic analyses of these alleles suggest the presence of at least eight lineages or haplogroups (A-H), with varying degrees of intra-lineage diversity. This differentiation is in contrast with the most recent taxonomic treatment based on cranial morphometrics which only recognised four subspecies. The mtDNA diversity strongly supports earlier views that this taxon may represent a species complex. We further show statistical support for the association of several of these lineages with particular vegetation biomes of southern Africa. The time to the most recent common ancestor (TMRCA) dates to the Pliocene (~5 Mya) whereas coalescent-based divergence time estimates between lineages vary between 813 Kya [0.22-1.36] and 4.06 Mya [1.21-4.47]. The major diversification within lineages occurred during the Pleistocene. The identification of several regions of sympatry of distinct lineages offers future opportunities for the elucidation of the underlying speciation processes in the suggested species complex.

CONCLUSIONS

Similar to other African murine rodents, M. namaquensis radiated during the Pliocene and Pleistocene coinciding with major periods of aridification and the expansion of savanna habitats. The suggested species complex is represented by at least eight lineages of which the majority are confined to only one or a few neighbouring biomes/bioregions. Contrasting intra-lineage phylogeographic patterns suggest differences in adaptation and responses to Plio-Pleistocene climatic and vegetation changes. The role of ecological factors in driving speciation in the group needs further investigation.

Rodent host cell/Lassa virus interactions: evolution and expression of α-Dystroglycan, LARGE-1 and LARGE-2 genes, with special emphasis on the Mastomys genus

Arenaviruses are usually rodent-borne viruses that constitute a major threat for human health. Among them, Lassa Fever Virus (LFV) occurs in Western Africa where it infects hundreds of thousands of people annually. According to the most recent surveys, LFV is hosted by one of the multimammate rats, Mastomys natalensis, but has never been detected in its sibling and sometimes sympatric species Mastomys erythroleucus. This pattern suggests that intrinsic, i.e. genetic properties underlie such a drastic epidemiological difference (M. natalensis as a reservoir vs. M. erythroleucus as a non-reservoir species). Here we investigate genomic differences between these two closely related rodent species by focusing on three genes that have recently been described as pivotal for LFV/human cell interactions: Dystroglycan (the LFV cellular receptor), LARGE-1 and LARGE-2 (two enzymes that are essential to Dystroglycan functioning). For all three genes, sequence analyses showed that amino-acid chains undergo extremely strong purifying selective pressures, and indicated that no nucleotide (therefore no tertiary structure) change can be advocated to explain species-specific differences in LFV-cellular mediation. Nevertheless, preliminary studies of kidney-specific expression profiles suggested that important species-specific differences exist between Mastomys species. Taking into account current knowledge about LFV-human cell interactions, our results may point towards a possible role for LARGE-1 and LARGE-2 enzymes at the intracellular replication level of the virus, rather than at the LFV-host cell receptor binding step.

Mus lepidoides (Muridae, Rodentia) of central Burma is a distinct species of potentially great evolutionary and biogeographic significance

Mus lepidoides of central Burma (Myanmar) was described 75 years ago but has since been dismissed as a regional variant of the Indian field mouse, M. booduga. DNA sequences of multiple mitochondrial and nuclear genes from recently collected specimens, combined with a fresh morphological reassessment, reaffirm the distinctiveness of M. lepidoides from M. booduga and from all other species of Mus. Mus lepidoides is so distinct in fact that it warrants placement in its own Species Group within subgenus Mus. Molecular and morphological assessments of phylogenetic affinities converge on the exciting possibility that M. lepidoides represents the previously elusive sibling taxon to the Mus musculus Species Group. If confirmed, this relationship would provide the previously missing connection between the main radiation of subgenus Mus in Southeast and South Asia, and the radiation of the M. musculus Species Group in western Asia and Europe. We speculate that a common ancestor of M. lepidoides and the M. musculus Species Group occupied a continuous but episodic tract of xeric habitat that linked central Burma with northern India at various times during the late Pliocene and Quaternary. Further molecular and cytogenetic studies on the phylogenetic position of M. lepidoides clearly represent a high priority in mouse research.

Revisiting the taxonomy of the Rattini tribe: a phylogeny-based delimitation of species boundaries

Background

Rodents are recognized as hosts for at least 60 zoonotic diseases and may represent a serious threat for human health. In the context of global environmental changes and increasing mobility of humans and animals, contacts between pathogens and potential animal hosts and vectors are modified, amplifying the risk of disease emergence. An accurate identification of each rodent at a specific level is needed in order to understand their implications in the transmission of diseases. Among the Muridae, the Rattini tribe encompasses 167 species inhabiting South East Asia, a hotspot of both biodiversity and emerging and re-emerging diseases. The region faces growing economical development that affects habitats, biodiversity and health. Rat species have been demonstrated as significant hosts of pathogens but are still difficult to recognize at a specific level using morphological criteria. DNA-barcoding methods appear as accurate tools for rat species identification but their use is hampered by the need of reliable identification of reference specimens. In this study, we explore and highlight the limits of the current taxonomy of the Rattini tribe.

Results

We used the DNA sequence information itself as the primary information source to establish group membership and estimate putative species boundaries. We sequenced two mitochondrial and one nuclear genes from 122 rat samples to perform phylogenetic reconstructions. The method of Pons and colleagues (2006) that determines, with no prior expectations, the locations of ancestral nodes defining putative species was then applied to our dataset. To give an appropriate name to each cluster recognized as a putative species, we reviewed information from the literature and obtained sequences from a museum holotype specimen following the ancient DNA criteria.

Conclusions

Using a recently developed methodology, this study succeeds in refining the taxonomy of one of the most difficult groups of mammals. Most of the species expected within the area were retrieved but new putative species limits were also indicated, in particular within Berylmys and Rattus genera, where future taxonomic studies should be directed. Our study lays the foundations to better investigate rodent-born diseases in South East Asia and illustrates the relevance of evolutionary studies for health and medical sciences.

Phylogenetics and biogeography of a spectacular Old World radiation of butterflies: the subtribe Mycalesina (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Satyrini)

Background

Butterflies of the subtribe Mycalesina (Nymphalidae: Satyrinae) are important model organisms in ecology and evolution. This group has radiated spectacularly in the Old World tropics and presents an exciting opportunity to better understand processes of invertebrate rapid radiations. However, the generic-level taxonomy of the subtribe has been in a constant state of flux, and relationships among genera are unknown. There are six currently recognized genera in the group. Mycalesis, Lohora and Nirvanopsis are found in the Oriental region, the first of which is the most speciose genus among mycalesines, and extends into the Australasian region. Hallelesis and Bicyclus are found in mainland Africa, while Heteropsis is primarily Madagascan, with a few species in Africa. We infer the phylogeny of the group with data from three genes (total of 3139 bp) and use these data to reconstruct events in the biogeographic history of the group.

Results

The results indicate that the group Mycalesina radiated rapidly around the Oligocene-Miocene boundary. Basal relationships are unresolved, but we recover six well-supported clades. Some species of Mycalesis are nested within a primarily Madagascan clade of Heteropsis, while Nirvanopsis is nested within Lohora. The phylogeny suggests that the group had its origin either in Asia or Africa, and diversified through dispersals between the two regions, during the late Oligocene and early Miocene. The current dataset tentatively suggests that the Madagascan fauna comprises two independent radiations. The Australasian radiation shares a common ancestor derived from Asia. We discuss factors that are likely to have played a key role in the diversification of the group.

Conclusions

We propose a significantly revised classification scheme for Mycalesina. We conclude that the group originated and radiated from an ancestor that was found either in Asia or Africa, with dispersals between the two regions and to Australasia. Our phylogeny paves the way for further comparative studies on this group that will help us understand the processes underlying diversification in rapid radiations of invertebrates.

Terrestrial small mammals as reservoirs of Mycobacterium ulcerans in benin

Mycobacterium ulcerans, the causative agent of Buruli ulcer (BU), is considered an environmental pathogen. Different mycobacteria were detected in 68 (12%) out of 565 small mammals collected in areas in Benin where BU is endemic. Although M. ulcerans was not found, we suggest that more research on M. ulcerans in African (small) mammals is needed.

Developmental constraints revealed by co-variation within and among molar rows in two murine rodents

Morphological integration corresponds to interdependency between characters that can arise from several causes. Proximal causes of integration include that different phenotypic features may share common genetic sets and/or interact during their development. Ultimate causes may be the prolonged effect of selection favoring integration of functionally interacting characters, achieved by the molding of these proximal causes. Strong and direct interactions among successive teeth of a molar row are predicted by genetic and developmental evidences. Functional constraints related to occlusion, however, should have selected more strongly for a morphological integration of occluding teeth and a corresponding evolution of the underlying developmental and genetic pathways. To investigate how these predictions match the patterns of phenotypic integration, we studied the co-variation among the six molars of the murine molar row, focusing on two populations of house mice (Mus musculus domesticus) and wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus). The size and shape of the three upper and lower molars were quantified and compared. Our results evidenced similar patterns in both species, size being more integrated than shape among all the teeth, and both size and shape co-varying strongly between adjacent teeth, but also between occluding teeth. Strong co-variation within each molar row is in agreement with developmental models showing a cascade influence of the first molar on the subsequent molars. In contrast, the strong co-variation between molars of the occluding tooth rows confirms that functional constraints molded patterns of integration and probably the underlying developmental pathways despite the low level of direct developmental interactions occurring among molar rows. These patterns of co-variation are furthermore conserved between the house mouse and the wood mouse that diverged >10 Ma, suggesting that they may constitute long-running constraints to the diversification of the murine rodent dentition.

The parasite assemblages of Zyzomys argurus (Thomas, 1889) (Muridae:Murinae) from northern Australia

In this study, we present an analysis of the ecto- and endoparasite fauna of Zyzomys argurus from Queensland and the Northern Territory. The finding of the louse Hoplopleura zyzomydis, and the nematodes Syphacia abertoni and S. boodjamullaensis, together with the new host records for Nippostrongylus sp., Aspiculuris tetraptera and Raillietina sp., have increased the number of parasites known from Z. argurus from 18 to 24, and provide the first records of parasites from Z. argurus from central and eastern Australia. Analysis of the assemblage of parasites found from Z. argurus appears to indicate that, while intraspecific transmission of parasites is relatively common, host-switching from other species is not. The ecology of Z. argurus appears to be the main determinant of its depauperate parasite fauna.

Historical mammal extinction on Christmas Island (Indian Ocean) correlates with introduced infectious disease

It is now widely accepted that novel infectious disease can be a leading cause of serious population decline and even outright extinction in some invertebrate and vertebrate groups (e.g., amphibians). In the case of mammals, however, there are still no well-corroborated instances of such diseases having caused or significantly contributed to the complete collapse of species. A case in point is the extinction of the endemic Christmas Island rat (Rattus macleari): although it has been argued that its disappearance ca. AD 1900 may have been partly or wholly caused by a pathogenic trypanosome carried by fleas hosted on recently-introduced black rats (Rattus rattus), no decisive evidence for this scenario has ever been adduced. Using ancient DNA methods on samples from museum specimens of these rodents collected during the extinction window (AD 1888–1908), we were able to resolve unambiguously sequence evidence of murid trypanosomes in both endemic and invasive rats. Importantly, endemic rats collected prior to the introduction of black rats were devoid of trypanosome signal. Hybridization between endemic and black rats was also previously hypothesized, but we found no evidence of this in examined specimens, and conclude that hybridization cannot account for the disappearance of the endemic species. This is the first molecular evidence for a pathogen emerging in a naïve mammal species immediately prior to its final collapse.