Friday 8 November 2013

Infected Butterflies Lead Geneticists Up the Garden Path

Nov. 6, 2013 — For animal species that cannot be distinguished using their external characteristics, genetic techniques such as DNA barcoding can help to identify cryptic species. An international team of researchers led by the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research (UFZ) has brought out an article in the open-access journal PLOS ONE demonstrating how a bacterial infection can mimic cryptic speciation in butterflies. To avoid false results in the future, scientists recommend more in-depth genetic studies.

Some animal species look so alike that external characteristics do not provide sufficient information about whether they belong to the same species or not. "The animal species themselves on the other hand can certainly tell the difference, as it is crucial for their reproductive success," says Sylvia Ritter, PhD student from the Department of Community Ecology at the UFZ. In addition to external characteristics, odours and behaviour also play an important role. However, scientific investigations on species-specific odours and behaviour are very complex. "This is why for species that cannot be differentiated using standard methods, genetic techniques such as DNA barcoding are used," explains UFZ researcher Dr. Martin Wiemers. With DNA barcoding, certain sections of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) are examined -- that is the genetic makeup, which is not found in the nucleus of the cell, but located in the mitochondria which are the cell's organelles residing in the cytoplasm. If divergences of more than two per cent are found between two potentially different species, then this is regarded as an indication of so-called cryptic speciation.


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