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Cardini A, Melone G, O'Higgins P, Fontaneto D. Exploring motion using geometric morphometrics in microscopic aquatic invertebrates: 'modes' and movement patterns during feeding in a bdelloid rotifer model species. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2024; 12:50. [PMID: 39003478 PMCID: PMC11245788 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-024-00491-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2023] [Accepted: 07/08/2024] [Indexed: 07/15/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Movement is a defining aspect of animals, but it is rarely studied using quantitative methods in microscopic invertebrates. Bdelloid rotifers are a cosmopolitan class of aquatic invertebrates of great scientific interest because of their ability to survive in very harsh environment and also because they represent a rare example of an ancient lineage that only includes asexually reproducing species. In this class, Adineta ricciae has become a model species as it is unusually easy to culture. Yet, relatively little is known of its ethology and almost nothing on how it behaves during feeding. METHODS To explore feeding behaviour in A. ricciae, as well as to provide an example of application of computational ethology in a microscopic invertebrate, we apply Procrustes motion analysis in combination with ordination and clustering methods to a laboratory bred sample of individuals recorded during feeding. RESULTS We demonstrate that movement during feeding can be accurately described in a simple two-dimensional shape space with three main 'modes' of motion. Foot telescoping, with the body kept straight, is the most frequent 'mode', but it is accompanied by periodic rotations of the foot together with bending while the foot is mostly retracted. CONCLUSIONS Procrustes motion analysis is a relatively simple but effective tool for describing motion during feeding in A. ricciae. The application of this method generates quantitative data that could be analysed in relation to genetic and ecological differences in a variety of experimental settings. The study provides an example that is easy to replicate in other invertebrates, including other microscopic animals whose behavioural ecology is often poorly known.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Cardini
- Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Geologiche, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Via Campi 103, 41125, Modena, Italy
- School of Anatomy, Physiology and Human Biology, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia
| | - Giulio Melone
- Università degli Studi di Milano, 20100, Milan, Italy
| | - Paul O'Higgins
- School of Anatomy, Physiology and Human Biology, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia
- Department of Archaeology and Hull York Medical School, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK
| | - Diego Fontaneto
- Consiglio Nazionale Delle Ricerche (CNR), Istituto di Ricerca Sulle Acque (IRSA), Corso Tonolli 50, 28922, Verbania Pallanza, Italy.
- National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC), Piazza Marina 61, 90133, Palermo, Italy.
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Kordbacheh A, Wallace RL, Walsh EJ. Evidence supporting cryptic species within two sessile microinvertebrates, Limnias melicerta and L. ceratophylli (Rotifera, Gnesiotrocha). PLoS One 2018; 13:e0205203. [PMID: 30379825 PMCID: PMC6209156 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0205203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2018] [Accepted: 09/20/2018] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Microorganisms, including rotifers, are thought to be capable of long distance dispersal. Therefore, they should show little population genetic structure due to high gene flow. Nevertheless, substantial genetic structure has been reported among populations of many taxa. In rotifers, genetic studies have focused on planktonic taxa leaving sessile groups largely unexplored. Here, we used COI gene and ITS region sequences to study genetic structure and delimit cryptic species in two sessile species (Limnias melicerta [32 populations]; L. ceratophylli [21 populations]). Among populations, ITS region sequences were less variable as compared to those of the COI gene (ITS; L. melicerta: 0-3.1% and L. ceratophylli: 0-4.4%; COI; L. melicerta: 0-22.7% and L. ceratophylli: 0-21.7%). Moreover, L. melicerta and L. ceratophylli were not resolved in phylogenetic analyses based on ITS sequences. Thus, we used COI sequences for species delimitation. Bayesian Species Delimitation detected nine putative cryptic species within L. melicerta and four putative cryptic species for L. ceratophylli. The genetic distance in the COI gene was 0-15.4% within cryptic species of L. melicerta and 0.5-0.6% within cryptic species of L. ceratophylli. Among cryptic species, COI genetic distance ranged 8.1-21.9% for L. melicerta and 15.1-21.2% for L. ceratophylli. The correlation between geographic and genetic distance was weak or lacking; thus geographic isolation cannot be considered a strong driver of genetic variation. In addition, geometric morphometric analyses of trophi did not show significant variation among cryptic species. In this study we used a conservative approach for species delimitation, yet we were able to show that species diversity in these sessile rotifers is underestimated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Azar Kordbacheh
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas, United States of America
| | - Robert L. Wallace
- Department of Biology, Ripon College, Ripon, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Elizabeth J. Walsh
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas, United States of America
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Jaturapruek R, Fontaneto D, Meksuwan P, Pholpunthin P, Maiphae S. Planktonic and periphytic bdelloid rotifers from Thailand reveal a species assemblage with a combination of cosmopolitan and tropical species. SYST BIODIVERS 2017. [DOI: 10.1080/14772000.2017.1353554] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Rapeepan Jaturapruek
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla 90110, Thailand
| | - Diego Fontaneto
- National Research Council, Institute of Ecosystem Study, Verbania Pallanza, Italy
| | - Phuripong Meksuwan
- Biology Program, Faculty of Science and Technology, Phuket Rajabhat University, Ratsada, Muang, Phuket 83000, Thailand
| | - Pornsilp Pholpunthin
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla 90110, Thailand
| | - Supiyanit Maiphae
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University 10900, Thailand
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Fontaneto D, Barraclough TG. Do Species Exist in Asexuals? Theory and Evidence from Bdelloid Rotifers. Integr Comp Biol 2015; 55:253-63. [PMID: 25912362 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icv024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
The possibility for independently evolving entities to form and persist in the absence of sexual recombination in eukaryotes has been questioned; nevertheless, there are organisms that are known to be asexual and that have apparently diversified into multiple species as recognized by taxonomists. These organisms have therefore been identified as an evolutionary paradox. We explore three alternative hypotheses attempting to solve the apparent paradox, focusing on bdelloid rotifers, the most studied group of organisms in which all species are considered asexual: (1) they may have some hidden form of sex; (2) species do not represent biological entities but simply convenient names; and (3) sex may not be a necessary requirement for speciation. We provide ample evidence against the first two hypotheses, reporting several studies supporting (1) bdelloids asexuality from different approaches, and (2) the existence of species from genetics, jaw morphology, ecology, and physiology. Thus, we (3) explore the role of sex in speciation comparing bdelloid and monogonont rotifers, and conclude with some caveats that could still change our understanding of bdelloid species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego Fontaneto
- *National Research Council, Institute of Ecosystem Study, Largo Tonolli 50, 28922 Verbania Pallanza, Italy;
| | - Timothy G Barraclough
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Ascot SL5 7PY, UK
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Tang CQ, Obertegger U, Fontaneto D, Barraclough TG. Sexual species are separated by larger genetic gaps than asexual species in rotifers. Evolution 2014; 68:2901-16. [PMID: 24975991 PMCID: PMC4262011 DOI: 10.1111/evo.12483] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2014] [Accepted: 06/13/2014] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Why organisms diversify into discrete species instead of showing a continuum of genotypic and phenotypic forms is an important yet rarely studied question in speciation biology. Does species discreteness come from adaptation to fill discrete niches or from interspecific gaps generated by reproductive isolation? We investigate the importance of reproductive isolation by comparing genetic discreteness, in terms of intra- and interspecific variation, between facultatively sexual monogonont rotifers and obligately asexual bdelloid rotifers. We calculated the age (phylogenetic distance) and average pairwise genetic distance (raw distance) within and among evolutionarily significant units of diversity in six bdelloid clades and seven monogonont clades sampled for 4211 individuals in total. We find that monogonont species are more discrete than bdelloid species with respect to divergence between species but exhibit similar levels of intraspecific variation (species cohesiveness). This pattern arises because bdelloids have diversified into discrete genetic clusters at a faster net rate than monogononts. Although sampling biases or differences in ecology that are independent of sexuality might also affect these patterns, the results are consistent with the hypothesis that bdelloids diversified at a faster rate into less discrete species because their diversification does not depend on the evolution of reproductive isolation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cuong Q Tang
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, Berkshire, SL5 7PY, United Kingdom.
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Planarian (Platyhelminthes, Tricladida) Diversity and Molecular Markers: A New View of an Old Group. DIVERSITY-BASEL 2014. [DOI: 10.3390/d6020323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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Iakovenko NS, KaŠparová E, Plewka M, Janko K. Otostephanos(Rotifera, Bdelloidea, Habrotrochidae) with the description of two new species. SYST BIODIVERS 2013. [DOI: 10.1080/14772000.2013.857737] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Rodriguero MS, Lanteri AA, Confalonieri VA. Speciation in the asexual realm: is the parthenogenetic weevil Naupactus cervinus a complex of species in statu nascendi? Mol Phylogenet Evol 2013; 68:644-56. [PMID: 23623993 DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2013.04.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2012] [Revised: 04/12/2013] [Accepted: 04/14/2013] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Population genetic theory shows that asexual organisms may evolve into species, which behave as independent evolutionary units. As a result, they form genotypic clusters separated by deep gaps due to geographic isolation and/or divergent selection. Identification of several genetically divergent groups of weevils embodied in the nominal species Naupactus cervinus deserves further study, in order to test if these lineages are evolving independently. In the present paper we tested if the parthenogenetic weevil N. cervinus, native to South America and broadly distributed throughout the world, contains more than one evolutionary unit. For this purpose, we applied three different approaches, a multilocus phylogenetic analysis, the GMYC approach and the K/θ method. We accomplished these analyses through a survey of mitochondrial (COI and COII genes) and nuclear (ITS1 sequence) genetic variation and morphometric analysis in a sample which included individuals from different locations within the native geographic range of N. cervinus. In addition, we compared the divergence accumulated in this species with that in another weevil of the same tribe (Naupactini) showing identical reproductive mode to see if similar levels of morphological variation matches similar levels of genetic divergence. We report the presence of two independent evolutionary units living in sympatry in forest areas. The incongruence between mitochondrial and nuclear datasets analyzed herein reflects incomplete lineage sorting of the nuclear marker and different evolutionary rates between genomes. Ecological divergence driven by natural selection (sympatry) or secondary contact after geographic isolation (allopatry) might explain the deep gaps in mitochondrial phylogenies. Instead, Wolbachia infection was ruled out as a causal factor for such differentiation. We conclude that N. cervinus is probably a species complex with at least two well differentiated lineages that would represent a cluster of species in statu nascendi.
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Affiliation(s)
- M S Rodriguero
- Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, IEGEBA (CONICET-UBA), Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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Pyganodon (Bivalvia: Unionoida: Unionidae) phylogenetics: A male- and female-transmitted mitochondrial DNA perspective. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2012; 63:430-44. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2012.01.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2011] [Revised: 01/17/2012] [Accepted: 01/20/2012] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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BIRKY JR CWILLIAM, RICCI CLAUDIA, MELONE GIULIO, FONTANETO DIEGO. Integrating DNA and morphological taxonomy to describe diversity in poorly studied microscopic animals: new species of the genus Abrochtha Bryce, 1910 (Rotifera: Bdelloidea: Philodinavidae). Zool J Linn Soc 2011. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1096-3642.2010.00674.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Ricci C, Fontaneto D. The importance of being a bdelloid: Ecological and evolutionary consequences of dormancy. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2009. [DOI: 10.1080/11250000902773484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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