Molecular Ecology (2005) 14, 3989-4001

Pairot Pramual, Chaliow Kuvangkadilok, Visut Baimai and Catherine Walton (2005)
Phylogeography of the black fly Simulium tani (Diptera: Simuliidae) from Thailand as inferred from mtDNA sequences
Molecular Ecology 14 (13), 3989-4001
Abstract: Intraspecific phylogeography has been used widely as a tool to infer population history. However, little attention has been paid to Southeast Asia despite its importance in terms of biodiversity. Here we used the cytochrome oxidase I gene of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) for a phylogeographic study of 147 individuals of the black fly Simulium tani from Thailand. The mtDNA revealed high genetic differentiation between the major geographical regions of north, east and central/south Thailand. Mismatch distributions indicate population expansions during the mid-Pleistocene and the late Pleistocene suggesting that current population structure and diversity may be due in part to the species' response to Pleistocene climatic fluctuations. The genealogical structure of the haplotypes, high northern diversity and maximum-likelihood inference of historical migration rates, suggest that the eastern and central/southern populations originated from northern populations in the mid-Pleistocene. Subsequently, the eastern region had had a largely independent history but the central/southern population may be largely the result of recent (c. 100 000 years ago) expansion, either from the north again, or from a relictual population in the central region. Cytological investigation revealed that populations from the south and east have two overlapping fixed chromosomal inversions. Since these populations also share ecological characteristics it suggests that inversions are involved in ecological adaptation. In conclusion both contemporary and historical ecological conditions are playing an important role in determining population genetic structure and diversity.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Pairot Pramual

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
molecular biology - genes

---

Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Simulium (genus)		Thailand