Molecular systematics of basal subfamilies of ants using 28S rRNA (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

For many years, the ant subfamily Ponerinae was hypothesized to contain the basal (early branching) lineages of ants. Recently the Ponerinae were reclassified into six poneromorph subfamilies based on morphological analysis. We evaluate this new poneromorph classification using 1240 base pairs of DNA sequence data obtained from 28S rRNA gene sequences of 68 terminal taxa. The molecular tree supported the monophyly of the ant family Formicidae, with 100% parsimony bootstrap (PB) support and posterior probabilities (PP) of 1.00, with the ant subfamily Leptanillinae as a sister group to all other ants (PB=62, PP=93). However, our analyses strongly support the polyphyly of the Poneromorph subfamilies (sensu Bolton). The Ectatomminae and Heteroponerinae are more closely related to the Formicoid subfamilies than to the rest of the poneromophs (PB=96, PP=100). The Amblyoponinae (PB=52, PP=96), Paraponerinae (PB=100, PP=100), Ponerinae (PB<50, PP=71), and Proceratiinae (PB=98, PP=100) appear as distinct lineages at the base of the tree and are identified as a poneroid grade. Monophyletic origins for the poneroid subfamilies Amblyoponinae, Paraponerinae, Ponerinae and Proceratiinae are supported in our analysis. However, the genus Platythyrea forms a distinct sister group to the Ponerini within the Ponerinae. The Heteroponerinae, based on our sample of Heteroponera, are associated with the subfamily Ectatomminae (PB=98, PP=100). Furthermore, our data indicate the genus Probolomyrmex belongs to the Proceratiinae as suggested by recent morphological analysis (PB=98, PP=100).     

Relationships among Nicotiana species revealed by the 5S rDNA spacer sequence and fluorescence in situ hybridization

To investigate phylogenetic relationships in Nicotiana, the intergenic spacer sequences of 5S rDNA were analyzed in species with 2n=18, 20 or 24, and amphidiploid species with 2n=48. The chromosomal localization of the 5S rDNA was determined by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). In species with 2n=24 and their descendants, a major 5S rDNA-specific PCR fragment of 400–650 bp was obtained. The amphidiploid species contained similar length of 5S rDNA units derived from putative diploid progenitors. Among the five clones from each representative PCR fragment, some nucleotide exchanges and length heterogeneity were observed. The latter was due to variation in the spacer region, such as differences in the length of poly A and/or poly T tracts as well as insertions/deletions. Interspecific comparisons of each 5S rDNA sequence demonstrated that the spacer sequence could be divided into three regions. Excluding gaps from the aligned spacer sequences of 5S rDNA, phylogenetic trees were constructed. Each phylogenetic tree showed an almost identical topology even if different algorithms were applied. The chromosomal locations of the 5S rDNA in each species correlated with the phylogenetic topology. The phylogenetic trees were generally in agreement with the current classification. Received: 15 January 2001 / Accepted: 15 February 2001     

基于28S rDNA D2基因片段与形态特征的优茧蜂亚科系统发育研究

本研究选取优茧蜂亚科Euphorinae(膜翅目Hymenoptera:茧蜂科Braconidae)的8族19属23种作为内群,茧蜂其它6个亚科的8属8种作外群,首次结合同源核糖体28S rDNA D2基因序列片段和41个形态学特征对该亚科进行了系统发育学研究。利用"圆口类"的内茧蜂亚科Rogadinae、茧蜂亚科Braconinae、矛茧蜂亚科Doryctinae的3个亚科为根,以PAUP*4.0和MrBayes3.0B4软件分别应用最大简约法(MP)和贝叶斯法对优茧蜂亚科的分子数据和分子数据与非分子数据的结合体进行了分析;并以PAUP*4.0对优茧蜂亚科的28S rDNA D2基因序列的片段的碱基组成与碱基替代情况进行了分析。结果表明:优茧蜂亚科的28S rDNA D2基因序列片段的GC%含量在40.00%~49.25%之间变动,而对于碱基替代情况来讲,优茧蜂亚科各个成员间序列变异位点上颠换(transversion)大于转换(transition);不同的分析和算法所产生的系统发育树都表明目前根据形态定义出的优茧蜂亚科Euphorinae不是一个单系群,而是一个与蚁茧蜂亚科Neoneurinae和高腹茧蜂亚科Cenocoelinae混杂在一起的并系群;在优茧蜂亚科内部,悬茧蜂族Meterorini和食甲茧蜂族Microctonini(排除猎户茧蜂属Orionis)为单系群,而宽鞘茧蜂族Centistini、大颚茧蜂族Cosmophorini、优茧蜂族Euphorini、瓢虫茧蜂族Dinocampini为并系群;悬茧蜂族Meterorini在优茧蜂亚科Euphorinae内位于基部位置的观点得到部分的支持,同时食甲茧蜂族Microctonini被判定为相对进化的类群。此外对于优茧蜂亚科内各属之间的相互亲缘关系,不同算法所得到的系统发育属的结果不完全一致,这表明优茧蜂亚科内(属及族)的系统发育关系还有待于进一步研究。     

Phylogenetic relationships of Steinernema Travassos, 1927 (Nematoda: Cephalobina: Steinernematidae) based on nuclear, mitochondrial and morphological data

Entomopathogenic nematodes of the genus Steinernema are lethal parasites of insects that are used as biological control agents of several lepidopteran, dipteran and coleopteran pests. Phylogenetic relationships among 25 Steinernema species were estimated using nucleotide sequences from three genes and 22 morphological characters. Parsimony analysis of 28S (LSU) sequences yielded a well-resolved phylogenetic hypothesis with reliable bootstrap support for 13 clades. Parsimony analysis of mitochondrial DNA sequences (12S rDNA and cox 1 genes) yielded phylogenetic trees with a lower consistency index than for LSU sequences, and with fewer reliably supported clades. Combined phylogenetic analysis of the 3-gene dataset by parsimony and Bayesian methods yielded well-resolved and highly similar trees. Bayesian posterior probabilities were high for most clades; bootstrap (parsimony) support was reliable for approximately half of the internal nodes. Parsimony analysis of the morphological dataset yielded a poorly resolved tree, whereas total evidence analysis (molecular plus morphological data) yielded a phylogenetic hypothesis consistent with, but less resolved than trees inferred from combined molecular data. Parsimony mapping of morphological characters on the 3-gene trees showed that most structural features of steinernematids are highly homoplastic. The distribution of nematode foraging strategies on these trees predicts that S. hermaphroditum, S. diaprepesi and S. longicaudum (US isolate) have cruise forager behaviours.     

基于部分18S rDNA, 28S rDNA和COI基因序列的索科线虫亲缘关系

通过PCR扩增获得我国常见昆虫病原索科线虫6属10种18S rDNA、28S rDNA(D3区)和COI基因序列,结合来自GenBank中6属10种索科线虫的18S rDNA同源序列,用邻接法和最大简约法构建系统进化树。结果显示:12属索科线虫分为三大类群,第一大类群是三种罗索属线虫(Romanomermis)先聚在一起,再与两索属(Amphimermis)和蛛索属(Aranimermis)线虫聚为一支;在第二大类群中,六索属(Hexamermis)、卵索属线虫(Ovomermis)和多索属(Agamermis)亲缘关系最近,先聚在一起,再与八腱索属(Octomyomermis)和Thaumamermis线虫聚为一支。第三大类群由索属(Mermis)和异索属(Allomermis)线虫以显著水平的置信度先聚在一起,再与蠓索属(Heleidomermis)和施特克尔霍夫索属(Strelkovimermis)线虫聚为一支。从遗传距离看,基于3个基因的数据集均显示索科线虫属内种间差异明显小于属间差异,武昌罗索线虫(R.wuchangensis)和食蚊罗索线虫(R.culicivorax)同属蚊幼寄生罗索属线虫,其种间的遗传距离最小。     

FtsZ蛋白同源性分析在乳酸菌系统学研究中的应用

FtsZ是一种广泛存在于细菌和古菌中的结构保守的蛋白质,在细胞分裂的过程中起关键的作用。通过PCR扩增FtsZ基因的一段800bp的核苷酸,构建了干酪乳杆菌-片球菌及相关乳酸菌的FtsZ蛋白系统发育树。将此系统树和16SrDNA系统树比较发现二者的拓扑结构非常相似。在两个基因系统树中,片球菌与乳杆菌的种均显示了较近的亲缘关系,而与其它球状的乳酸菌,如链球菌和肠球菌的亲缘关系较远。研究还表明FtsZ蛋白序列的分辨率高于16SrDNA,更适用于乳酸菌种间的系统分类研究。     

以23S rDNA一个多变区作为分子标记对致病杆菌属细菌进行分类鉴定

【目的】致病杆菌属(Xenorhabdus)细菌是一类重要的生物杀虫剂,斯氏属昆虫病原线虫的共生菌,建立快速准确的分类鉴定方法,对研究开发这类细菌至关重要。【方法】本研究PCR扩增测序了本室保藏的26株,含20种已定名致病杆菌属细菌的一段845 bp的23S rDNA序列,构建了基于这段序列的致病杆菌属系统树并与基于几乎全长16S rDNA序列的相应系统树进行比较,分析了两者作为致病杆菌属细菌分类鉴定分子标记的优缺点。【结果】结果表明,与全长16S rDNA序列相比,所选择的23S rDNA序列片段所含可变位点、简约信息位点比例更高,遗传距离数值跨度大。【结论】上述结果显示该序列片段可用于致病杆菌属细菌进行分类鉴定,特别适用于对野外资源调查中采集到的大量菌株进行快速鉴定。     

Molecular phylogenies of plants and Frankia support multiple origins of actinorhizal symbioses

Molecular phylogenetic trees were reconstructed from nucleotide sequences of nifH and 16S rDNA for Frankia and of rbcL for actinorhizal plants. Comparison of Frankia phylogenetic trees reconstructed using nifH and 16S rDNA sequences indicated that subgroupings of both trees correspond with each other in terms of plant origins of Frankia strains. The results suggested that 16S rDNAs can be utilized for coevolution analysis of actinorhizal symbioses. Frankia and plant phylogenetic trees reconstructed using 16S rDNA and rbcL sequences were compared. The comparison by tree matching and likelihood ratio tests indicated that although branching orders of both trees do not strictly correspond with each other, subgroupings of Frankia and their host plants correspond with each other in terms of symbiotic partnership. Estimated divergence times among Frankia and plant clades indicated that Frankia clades diverged more recently than plant clades. Taken together, actinorhizal symbioses originated more than three times after the four plant clades diverged.     

New molecular data for tardigrade phylogeny, with the erection of Paramacrobiotus gen. nov.

Up to few years ago, the phylogenies of tardigrade taxa have been investigated using morphological data, but relationships within and between many taxa are still unresolved. Our aim has been to verify those relationships adding molecular analysis to morphological analysis, using nearly complete 18S ribosomal DNA gene sequences (five new) of 19 species, as well as cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) mitochondrial DNA gene sequences (15 new) from 20 species, from a total of seven families. The 18S rDNA tree was calculated by minimum evolution, maximum parsimony (MP) and maximum likelihood (ML) analyses. DNA sequences coding for COI were translated to amino acid sequences and a tree was also calculated by neighbour-joining, MP and ML analyses. For both trees (18S rDNA and COI) posterior probabilities were calculated by MrBayes. Prominent findings are as follows: the molecular data on Echiniscidae (Heterotardigrada) are in line with the phylogenetic relationships identifiable by morphological analysis. Among Eutardigrada, orders Apochela and Parachela are confirmed as sister groups. Ramazzottius (Hypsibiidae) results more related to Macrobiotidae than to the genera here considered of Hypsibiidae. Macrobiotidae and Macrobiotus result not monophyletic and confirm morphological data on the presence of at least two large groups within Macrobiotus. Using 18S rDNA and COI mtDNA genes, a new phylogenetic line has been identified within Macrobiotus , corresponding to the ' richtersi-areolatus group'. Moreover, cryptic species have been identified within the Macrobiotus ' richtersi group' and within Richtersius . Some evolutionary lines of tardigrades are confirmed, but others suggest taxonomic revision. In particular, the new genus Paramacrobiotus gen. n. has been identified, corresponding to the phylogenetic line represented by the ' richtersi-areolatus group'.     

Phylogenetic relationships of Steinernema Travassos, 1927 (Nematoda: Cephalobina: Steinernematidae) based on nuclear, mitochondrial and morphological data

Entomopathogenic nematodes of the genus Steinernema are lethal parasites of insects that are used as biological control agents of several lepidopteran, dipteran and coleopteran pests. Phylogenetic relationships among 25 Steinernema species were estimated using nucleotide sequences from three genes and 22 morphological characters. Parsimony analysis of 28S (LSU) sequences yielded a well-resolved phylogenetic hypothesis with reliable bootstrap support for 13 clades. Parsimony analysis of mitochondrial DNA sequences (12S rDNA and cox 1 genes) yielded phylogenetic trees with a lower consistency index than for LSU sequences, and with fewer reliably supported clades. Combined phylogenetic analysis of the 3-gene dataset by parsimony and Bayesian methods yielded well-resolved and highly similar trees. Bayesian posterior probabilities were high for most clades; bootstrap (parsimony) support was reliable for approximately half of the internal nodes. Parsimony analysis of the morphological dataset yielded a poorly resolved tree, whereas total evidence analysis (molecular plus morphological data) yielded a phylogenetic hypothesis consistent with, but less resolved than trees inferred from combined molecular data. Parsimony mapping of morphological characters on the 3-gene trees showed that most structural features of steinernematids are highly homoplastic. The distribution of nematode foraging strategies on these trees predicts that S. hermaphroditum, S. diaprepesi and S. longicaudum (US isolate) have cruise forager behaviours.     

Molecular characterization of major and minor rDNA repeats and genetic variability assessment in different species of mahseer found in North India

Relationship among the mahseer species (Family: Cyprinidae) has long been debated in fish systematics. Present study concentrates on the nature of the phylogenetic relationship among the five mahseer species using the sequence of major ribosomal DNA (45S rDNA). We have covered rDNA sequence of approximately 5.2 kb per individual, 26.0 kb per species and 130.0 kb as a whole. We also characterized the 45S and 5S rDNA regions with respect to their nucleotide composition. For phylogenetic analyses, nucleotide sequences were divided into four datasets. First and second datasets contained 18S rDNA and ITS1 sequence, whereas third and fourth datasets consisted of ITS2 and complete 18S-ITS1-5.8S-ITS2-28S, respectively. The NJ tree was constructed for all the datasets. The mahseer species under study formed a monophyletic group well separated from the outgroup species. Similarly, the individuals of Neolissochilus hexagonolepis form monophyletic group with Tor species, indicating Neolissochilus as a sister genus of Tor. The findings from the present study provide greater insights into taxonomic status of mahseer, and set the stage for future investigations dealing with phylo-geography, taxonomy, conservation and co-evolution within this interesting and important group of fish.     

Molecular phylogeny of Pamphagidae (Acridoidea,Orthoptera) from China based on mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase II sequences

Abstract Phylogenetic relationships of Pamphagidae were examined using cytochrome oxidase subunit II (COII) mtDNA sequences (684 bp). Twenty‐seven species of Acridoidea from 20 genera were sequenced to obtain mtDNA data, along with four species from the GenBank nucleotide database. The purpose of this study was analyzing the phylogenetic relationships among subfamilies within Pamphagidae and interpreting the phylogenetic position of this family within the Acridoidea superfamily. Phylogenetic trees were reconstructed using neighbor‐joining (NJ), maximum parsimony (MP) and Bayesian inference (BI) methods. The 684 bp analyzed fragment included 126 parsimony informative sites. Sequences diverged 1.0%–11.1% between genera within subfamilies, and 8.8%–12.3% between subfamilies. Amino acid sequence diverged 0–6.1% between genera within subfamilies, and 0.4%–7.5% between subfamilies. Our phylogenetic trees revealed the monophyly of Pamphagidae and three distinct major groups within this family. Moreover, several well supported and stable clades were found in Pamphagidae. The global clustering results were similar to that obtained through classical morphological classification: Prionotropisinae, Thrinchinae and Pamphaginae were monophyletic groups. However, the current genus Filchnerella (Prionotropisinae) was not a monophyletic group and the genus Asiotmethis (Prionotropisinae) was a sister group of the genus Thrinchus (Thrinchinae). Further molecular and morphological studies are required to clarify the phylogenetic relationships of the genera Filchnerella and Asiotmethis.     

Phylogeny of gamma-polyglutamic acid-producing Bacillus strains isolated from fermented soybean foods manufactured in Asian countries

Natto-like fermented soybean products are manufactured and consumed in many Asian countries. In this study, we isolated thirty-four Bacillus strains capable of producing gamma-polyglutamic acid (PGA) from natto in mountainous areas of South Asia and Southeast Asia and from soils in Japan. To elucidate the phylogeny of these PGA-producing strains, phylogenetic trees based on sequences of 16S rDNA, housekeeping genes of rpoB (RNA polymerase beta-subunit) and fus (elongation factor G) were constructed. A phylogenetic tree based on 16S rDNA sequences showed that twenty-one isolates were clustered in the same group of B. subtilis. The other thirteen isolates were located in the cluster of B. amyloliquefaciens. Phylogenetic trees based on the partial sequences of rpoB and fus genes were similar to the phylogeny based on 16S rDNA sequences. The results of the present study indicate that PGA-producing strains isolated from local natto in Asian countries and soil in Japan can be divided into two species, B. subtilis and B. amyloliquefaciens.     

指环虫属的早期辐射及其与宿主鲤科鱼类的协同进化关系

本研究利用28SrDNAC1-D2区序列分析采自鲤科鱼类中6亚科宿主和寄生在花鲈、梅花鲈上的共17种指环虫的系统发育关系。同时,通过比较宿主鲤科鱼类与指环虫的系统发育树,检验指环虫与其宿主是否存在协同进化关系。结果表明:17种指环虫形成5个进化支(Clade),其中寄生在团头鲂(亚科)和鲢、鳙(鲢亚科)上的6种指环虫聚为一支(Clade1),而它们的宿主鱼类在系统发育分析中也表现为近缘关系;寄生在鲮鱼(野鲮亚科)上的D.quanfami(Clade5)位于系统树最基部,鲫鱼和鲤鱼(鲤亚科)的寄生指环虫处在系统树的次基部位置,而鲤亚科与野鲮亚科组成的姐妹群在宿主系统树上同样处在基部位置,寄生虫和宿主在进化上较为原始的地位得到了很好地相互印证。因而,本研究首次利用分子系统学手段分析指环虫属远缘物种间的系统关系,揭示了指环虫属与宿主鱼类之间存在协同进化关系。另外,本研究首次发现,野鲮亚科鱼类也可能是指环虫类的早期宿主,这与先前认为鲤亚科鱼类为指环虫类的祖先宿主的推测有所不同。     

Molecular phylogeny of the brachyuran crab superfamily Majoidea indicates close congruence with trees based on larval morphology

In this study, we constructed the first molecular phylogeny of the diverse crab superfamily Majoidea (Decapoda: Pleocyemata: Brachyura), using three loci (16S, COI, and 28S) from 37 majoid species. We used this molecular phylogeny to evaluate evidence for phylogenetic hypotheses based on larval and adult morphology. Our study supports several relationships predicted from larval morphology. These include a monophyletic Oregoniidae family branching close to the base of the tree; a close phylogenetic association among the Epialtidae, Pisidae, Tychidae, and Mithracidae families; and some support for the monophyly of the Inachidae and Majidae families. However, not all majoid families were monophyletic in our molecular tree, providing weaker support for phylogenetic hypotheses inferred strictly from adult morphology (i.e., monophyly of individual families). This suggests the adult morphological characters traditionally used to classify majoids into different families may be subject to convergence. Furthermore, trees constructed with data from any single locus were more poorly resolved than trees constructed from the combined dataset, suggesting that utilization of multiple loci are necessary to reconstruct relationships in this group.     

基于形态特征和ITS序列对7个鹅膏菌属菌株的分类鉴定

以采自浙江省丽水地区的7个鹅膏菌属菌株作为研究材料,在基于形态特征进行初步鉴定的基础上,对7种鹅膏菌的rDNAITS区段进行克隆测序和序列特征比较分析。进一步对ITS序列进行核酸序列数据库GenBank同源性检索比对,将从GenBank检索获得的9个最相似物种的ITS序列连同7种鹅膏菌的ITS序列一起作系统发育分析。结果表明:基于ITS序列对f6、f9和f493个菌株的分子鉴定支持了基于形态特征的鉴定结果,对f5的分子鉴定不支持形态鉴定的结果,f8为鹅膏菌属内某种,f66为鹅膏菌属内某种,并与Amanitafulva,A.atrofusca,A.orientifulva3种鹅膏菌的亲缘关系较近,f7与另外6种鹅膏菌的亲缘关系相差甚远。研究结果提示基于分子水平上的ITS序列分析不能单方面作为大型真菌分类鉴定的可靠依据,可以作为基于传统形态学分类鉴定的辅助参考依据。     

基于核糖体DNA联合序列的天牛总科高阶元分子系统学研究

【目的】利用核糖体DNA联合序列探讨天牛总科高阶元分子系统发育。【方法】本研究采用分子标记技术,分析测定了63种天牛核糖体28S rDNA D2和D3区以及18S rDNA V4和V7区的DNA序列,并采用邻接法、最大似然法和贝叶斯推论法分别构建了天牛总科2科6亚科63种的分子进化系统。【结果】序列联合比对分析,最终得到1 404 bp的联合数据组,其中可变位点446个（32.0%）,保守位点958（68.0%）,转换/颠换的平均值（R值）为1.73。28S rDNA和18S rDNA以及联合序列的饱和度分析显示碱基突变未达到饱和,说明这些序列适合于分子进化树的构建。利用不同系统发育重建方法得到进化树具有相似拓扑结构,结果支持沟胫天牛亚科、花天牛亚科和天牛亚科为单系群,这与形态学分类结果相似;狭胸天牛独立成为亚科得到了支持。【结论】利用28S rDNA D2和D3区以及18S rDNA V4和V7区联合序列成功构建出了天牛总科高阶元的系统发育树。研究表明联合序列分析是探讨天牛高阶元分类的有效的方法。     

Dinoflagellate phylogeny as inferred from heat shock protein 90 and ribosomal gene sequences

Background

Interrelationships among dinoflagellates in molecular phylogenies are largely unresolved, especially in the deepest branches. Ribosomal DNA (rDNA) sequences provide phylogenetic signals only at the tips of the dinoflagellate tree. Two reasons for the poor resolution of deep dinoflagellate relationships using rDNA sequences are (1) most sites are relatively conserved and (2) there are different evolutionary rates among sites in different lineages. Therefore, alternative molecular markers are required to address the deeper phylogenetic relationships among dinoflagellates. Preliminary evidence indicates that the heat shock protein 90 gene (Hsp90) will provide an informative marker, mainly because this gene is relatively long and appears to have relatively uniform rates of evolution in different lineages.

Methodology/Principal Findings

We more than doubled the previous dataset of Hsp90 sequences from dinoflagellates by generating additional sequences from 17 different species, representing seven different orders. In order to concatenate the Hsp90 data with rDNA sequences, we supplemented the Hsp90 sequences with three new SSU rDNA sequences and five new LSU rDNA sequences. The new Hsp90 sequences were generated, in part, from four additional heterotrophic dinoflagellates and the type species for six different genera. Molecular phylogenetic analyses resulted in a paraphyletic assemblage near the base of the dinoflagellate tree consisting of only athecate species. However, Noctiluca was never part of this assemblage and branched in a position that was nested within other lineages of dinokaryotes. The phylogenetic trees inferred from Hsp90 sequences were consistent with trees inferred from rDNA sequences in that the backbone of the dinoflagellate clade was largely unresolved.

Conclusions/Significance

The sequence conservation in both Hsp90 and rDNA sequences and the poor resolution of the deepest nodes suggests that dinoflagellates reflect an explosive radiation in morphological diversity in their recent evolutionary past. Nonetheless, the more comprehensive analysis of Hsp90 sequences enabled us to infer phylogenetic interrelationships of dinoflagellates more rigorously. For instance, the phylogenetic position of Noctiluca, which possesses several unusual features, was incongruent with previous phylogenetic studies. Therefore, the generation of additional dinoflagellate Hsp90 sequences is expected to refine the stem group of athecate species observed here and contribute to future multi-gene analyses of dinoflagellate interrelationships.     

Distant horizontal gene transfer is rare for multiple families of prokaryotic insertion sequences

Horizontal gene transfer in prokaryotes is rampant on short and intermediate evolutionary time scales. It poses a fundamental problem to our ability to reconstruct the evolutionary tree of life. Is it also frequent over long evolutionary distances? To address this question, we analyzed the evolution of 2,091 insertion sequences from all 20 major families in 438 completely sequenced prokaryotic genomes. Specifically, we mapped insertion sequence occurrence on a 16S rDNA tree of the genomes we analyzed, and we also constructed phylogenetic trees of the insertion sequence transposase coding sequences. We found only 30 cases of likely horizontal transfer among distantly related prokaryotic clades. Most of these horizontal transfer events are ancient. Only seven events are recent. Almost all of these transfer events occur between pairs of human pathogens or commensals. If true also for other, non-mobile DNA, the rarity of distant horizontal transfer increases the odds of reliable phylogenetic inference from sequence data.