Genomics of Neotropical biodiversity indicators: Two butterfly radiations with rampant chromosomal rearrangements and hybridization

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: van der Heijden, Eva S. M.; Nasvall, Karin; Seixas, Fernando A.; Nobre, Carlos Eduardo Beserra; Maia, Artur Campos D.; Salazar-Carrion, Patricio; Walker, Jonah M.; Szczerbowski, Daiane; Schulz, Stefan; Warren, Ian A.; Cordova, Kimberly Gabriela Gavilanes; Sanchez-Carvajal, Maria Jose; Chandi, Franz; Arias-Cruz, Alex P.; Rueda-M, Nicol; Salazar, Camilo; Dasmahapatra, Kanchon K.; Montgomery, Stephen H.; McClure, Melanie; Absolon, Dominic E.; Mathers, Thomas C.; Santos, Camilla A.; McCarthy, Shane; Wood, Jonathan M. D.; Lamas, Gerardo; Bacquet, Caroline; Freitas, Andre Victor Lucci; Willmott, Keith R.; Iggins, Chris D. J.; Elias, Marianne; Meier, Joana I.
• 署名单位: Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute; University of Cambridge; Harvard University; Universidade Federal de Pernambuco; Universidade Federal de Pernambuco; Braunschweig University of Technology; Universidad del Rosario; University of York - UK; University of Bristol; Ifremer; Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS); Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos; Smithsonian Institution; Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute; Universidade Estadual de Campinas; State University System of Florida; University of Florida; Sorbonne Universite; Universite PSL; Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes (EPHE); Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle (MNHN); Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS); Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS); Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale (Inserm); Universite PSL; College de France
• 刊物名称: PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0027-10987
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2410939122
• 发表日期: 2025-07-28
• 关键词: pyrrolizidine alkaloids; ithomiine butterflies; adaptive radiation; lepidoptera; nymphalidae; differentiation; introgression; divergence; speciation; adaptation

摘要

A central question in evolutionary biology is what drives the diversification of lineages. Rapid, recent radiations are ideal systems for this question because they still show key morphological and ecological adaptations associated with speciation. While most research on recent radiations focuses on those occurring in insular environments, less attention has been given to continental radiations with complex species interactions. Here, we study the drivers of continental radiations of Melinaea and Mechanitis butterflies (Nymphalidae: Ithomiini), which have rapidly radiated in the continental Neotropics. They are classical models for Amazonian biogeography and color pattern mimicry and have been proposed as biodiversity indicators. We generated reference genomes for five species of each genus and whole-genome resequencing data of most species and subspecies covering a wide geographic range to assess phylogeographic relationships, hybridization patterns, and chromosomal rearrangements. Our data help resolve the classification of these taxonomically challenging butterflies and reveal very high diversification rates. We find rampant evidence of historical hybridization and putative hybrid species in both radiations, which may have facilitated their rapid diversification by enriching the genetic diversity. Moreover, we identified dozens of chromosomal fusions and fissions between congeneric species that have likely expedited reproductive isolation. We conclude that interactions between geography, hybridization and chromosomal rearrangements have contributed to these rapid radiations in the highly diverse Neotropical region. We hypothesize that rapid radiations may be spurred if repeated periods of geographic isolation are combined with lineage-specific rapid accumulation of incompatibilities, followed by secondary contact with some gene exchange.