Phylogenetic analysis of slippage-like sequence variation in the V4 rRNA expansion segment in tiger beetles (Cicindelidae) |
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Authors: | Vogler AP; Welsh A; Hancock JM |
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Institution: | Department of Entomology, Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom. a.vogler@nhm.ac.uk |
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Abstract: | Sequence variation in the middle part of the small-subunit rRNA was studied
for representatives of the major groups in the family Cicindelidae
(Coleoptera). All taxa exhibited a much expanded segment in variable region
V4 compared to D. melanogaster. This expanded segment was not found in
other groups of beetles, including three taxa in the closely related
Carabidae. Secondary structure predictions indicate that the expanded
segment folds into a single stem-loop structure in all taxa. Despite its
structural conservation, the fragment differs strongly in primary sequence,
even between closely related sister taxa. Several features of these
sequences are consistent with slippage replication as the mechanism that
has generated this sequence variation: the level of internal sequence
repetition as measured by the relative simplicity factor (RSF), its
variation in length between close relatives, and the strong nucleotide bias
compared to the remainder of the gene. With few exceptions, there was also
a correlation between sequence length and the level of sequence repetition,
frequently interpreted as the result of slippage. Phylogenies inferred from
the expansion segment were not consistent with existing hypotheses from
other molecular data for the group. This indicates that DNA sequences in
this region are not homologous throughout the entire Cicindelidae, but it
leaves open the possibility that this expansion segment can be used for
phylogeny reconstruction within subgroups. The implications of a
phylogenetic approach to the understanding of slippage-like evolution are
discussed.
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