Lack of genetic differentiation among widely spaced subpopulations of a butterfly with home range behaviour
作者:Marcus R Kronforst、Theodore H Fleming
DOI:10.1046/j.1365-2540.2001.00830.x
日期:2001.2
We examine seven geographically separate subpopulations of Heliconius charithonia, a butterfly with well-documented home range behaviour, in MiamiâDade County, Florida, for genetic differentiation using cellulose acetate electrophoresis. These subpopulations exhibit little genetic variation (percent polymorphic loci=27, average heterozygosity=0.103) especially in comparison to populations of the same and related species from mainland South America. Allele frequencies do not differ among the subpopulations in south Florida and estimates of Wrightâs fixation index (FST) support that there is no detectable genetic differentiation among them. This result supports an earlier finding that the dispersal ability of Heliconius butterflies may be underestimated. However, it is unlikely that increased dispersal ability alone could account for the lack of genetic differentiation observed among subpopulations separated by almost 80 km. Given the likely effective population size of these subpopulations (Ne=205) and the average generation time of this species in the subtropics (in the range of 30â90 days), this lack of genetic differentiation is best explained by current or very recent gene flow following a stepping-stone model. Furthermore, this result provides evidence that the current extensive degree of habitat fragmentation surrounding the city of Miami does not limit gene flow among urban subpopulations of Heliconius charithonia.
我们在佛罗里达州迈阿密戴德县利用醋酸纤维素电泳法研究了七种地理上独立的亚种群(Heliconius charithonia)的遗传分化情况。这些亚群的遗传变异很小(多态性位点百分比=27,平均杂合度=0.103),尤其是与南美洲大陆的同种和相关种群相比。佛罗里达南部各亚群之间的等位基因频率没有差异,赖特固定指数(FST)的估计值也表明它们之间没有可检测到的遗传差异。这一结果支持了早先的一项发现,即Heliconius蝴蝶的扩散能力可能被低估了。不过,单凭扩散能力的提高不太可能解释相距近 80 公里的亚种群之间缺乏遗传分化的现象。考虑到这些亚种群的有效种群数量(Ne=205)和该物种在亚热带的平均世代时间(30-90天),这种缺乏遗传分化的现象最好由当前或最近的基因流动按照阶石模型进行解释。此外,这一结果还提供了证据,证明迈阿密市周围目前广泛的生境破碎化程度并没有限制Heliconius charithonia城市亚群之间的基因流动。