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Citation for Study 586

About Citation title: "One species or several? Discordant patterns of geographic variation between allozymes and mtDNA sequences among spiders in the genus Metepeira (Araneae: Araneidae).".
About This study was previously identified under the legacy study ID S414 (Status: Published).

Citation

Piel W.H., & Nutt K. 2000. One species or several? Discordant patterns of geographic variation between allozymes and mtDNA sequences among spiders in the genus Metepeira (Araneae: Araneidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 15(3): 414-418.

Authors

  • Piel W.H. Phone +1 203 716 907 3538
  • Nutt K.

Abstract

Paradoxically, an allozyme study of Metepeira spinipes (sensu lato) demonstrated extensive gene flow among four populations whose members are nevertheless morphologically and behaviorally distinct. Initially the authors tentatively concluded that the populations exhibited panmixis, and suggested that local environmental effects accounted for the apparent morphological and behavioral differences. However, they later concluded that such differences were too great to be accounted for by the environment alone, and that the four populations actually represented three different species. To confirm that the allozyme results were, in fact, artifactual, we reexamined the relationships among these populations by sequencing a portion of the 12S mtDNA ribosomal subunit. In contrast to the allozyme result, our results demonstrate good agreement between patterns of genetic and morphological/behavioral variation. We suggest (1) that the allozyme allele frequencies are homogenized by balancing selection, not gene flow as was previously concluded, and therefore (2) that this study provides another instance where inferences about population structures from allozyme data are misleading. Key Words.?Metepeira, allozymes, mitochondrial ribosomal DNA, discordance, molecular systematics.

Keywords

Metepeira; allozymes; mitochondrial ribosomal DNA; discordance; molecular systematics

External links

About this resource

  • Canonical resource URI: http://purl.org/phylo/treebase/phylows/study/TB2:S586
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