A phylogenetic and biogeographic perspective on the evolution of poeciliid fishes

Abstract

Phylogenetic relationships of members of the subfamily Poeciliinae (Cyprinodontiformes) are investigated to test alternate hypotheses of diversification resulting from the assembly of the Central America and the Caribbean from the Cretaceous period onwards. We use 4333 aligned base pairs of mitochondrial DNA and 1549 aligned base pairs of nuclear DNA from 55 samples representing 48 ingroup and seven outgroup species to test this hypothesis. Mitochondrial genes analyzed include those encoding the 12S and 16S ribosomal RNAs; transfer RNAs coding for valine, leucine, isoleucine, glutamine, methionine, tryptophan, alanine, asparagine, cysteine and tyrosine; and complete cytochrome b and NADH dehydrogenase subunit I and II; nuclear gene analyzed included the third exon of the recombination activation gene 1 (RAG1). Analyses of combined mtDNA and nuclear DNA data sets result in a well-supported phylogenetic hypothesis. This hypothesis is in conflict with the classical taxonomic assignment of genera into tribes and phylogenetic hypotheses based on the taxonomy; however, the molecular hypothesis defines nine clades that are geographically restricted and consistent with the geological evolution of Central America and the Caribbean. Our analyses support multiple colonization events of Middle America followed by a mix of vicariance and dispersal events.

Pantanodontidae (Teleostei, Cyprinodontiformes), the sister group to all other cyprinodontoid killifishes as inferred by molecular data

“…To amplify the fragments of DNA were used the primers Glyt_F559 and Glyt_R1562, for the Glycosyltransferase gene (GLYT1), myh6_F507 and myh6_R1325, for the cardiac protein encoding gene, Myosin heavy chain 6 (MYH6), SH3PX3_F461, SH3PX3_R1303, SH3PX3_F532 and SH3PX3_R1299, for the SH3 and PX domain-containing 3-like protein (SH3PX3) (Li et al 2007), RAG1F1, RAG1R2 (Lopez et al 2004) and H3405 (Hrbek et al 2007) for the recombination activation gene 1 (RAG1), ENC1_F88, ENC1_F85, ENC1_R975, ENC1_R982 (Li et al 2007) and the primers ENC1_FPAN (5'-ATGCTGYTWCT-GTCTGAYGCCCACCAGTG-3'), ENC1_RPAN (5'-GCYTTBGGRATKATCTCTTTGGC -3') herein developed for the ectodermal neural cortex 1 gene, LCO1490, HCO2198 (Folmer et al 1994) for the Cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI), 16sar-L and 16sbr-H (Palumbi et al 1991) for the 16S ribosomal RNA gene. The annealing temperatures for the primers ENC1_FPAN and ENC1_RPAN is 59°C.…”

Hibernation in an Antarctic Fish: On Ice for Winter

“…For example, ancient colonization events have been proposed for the family Poeciliidae (Cretaceous -Rosen model [23]) [57] and the Cichlidae, Rivulidae and Synbranchidae families (Miocene -GAARlandia model as proposed by Iturralde-Vinent and MacPhee [7]) [8,12,13,22]. However in contrast with Astyanax, these families also occur in the Caribbean islands, and as secondary fishes could have crossed through a shallow passage between South America and Central America during the Miocene [13,20,22].…”

Monophyly of Heterandriini (Teleostei: Poeciliidae) revisited: a critical review of the data

“…Furthermore, it is important to note that the tribe-level designation was originally introduced to differentiate poeciliid groups with characteristic gonopodial structures and distinct geographical distributions (Hubbs, 1924), and not necessarily to diagnose monophyletic groups. Indeed, the traditional tribe-level taxa used in poeciliine systematics do not closely match the results of modern phylogenetic investigations (Rodriguez, 1997;Costa, 1998;Ghedotti, 1998Ghedotti, , 2000Hrbek et al, 2007). …”

“…Poeciliids are characterized by a suite of derived characters including the position of the pectoral fins high on side of the body, an anterior placement of the pelvic fins ventral to the pectoral fins, the presence of pleural ribs on the first several haemal arches, a bony cap on the ventral hypohyal lying over the anterior facet of the anterior ceratohyal, and supraorbital laterosensory pores with neuromasts embedded in fleshy grooves (Ghedotti, 2000). Despite the widespread use of poeciliid fishes in ecological and evolutionary studies (e.g., Rauchenberger, 1990;Meyer et al, 1994;Borrowsky et al, 1995;Marcus & McCune, 1999;Spencer et al, 1999;Spencer et al, 2000;Morris et al, 2001;Kallman et al, 2004;Gutierrez-Rodriguez et al, 2007a, 2007bReznick et al, 2007;Leberg & Firmin, 2008;Purcell et al, 2008;Martin et al, 2009;Pollux et al, 2009;Meredith et al, 2010;Pires et al, 2010;Albert & Johnson, 2011), the phylogenetic interrelationships among poeciliid species remain incompletely resolved.The family Poeciliidae comprises three subfamilies that are restricted to fresh and brackish continental waters: Poeciliinae, Procatopodinae, and Aplocheilichthyinae (Ghedotti, 2000;Lucinda, 2003;Hrbek et al, 2007). The Poeciliinae includes at least 228 species distributed across much of the tropical and subtropical portions of the Americas, from the La Plata estuary of northern Argentina to southeastern United States, with species richness reaching a zenith in Middle America and the West Indies (Rosen & Bailey, 1963;Lucinda, 2003;Hrbek et al, 2007;.…”

“…The dataset arising from this study is not sufficient to address the phylogenetic relationships of H. formosa to other possible members of Heterandriini. Langerhans et al(2005) and Hrbek et al(2007) hypothesized that gonopodial characters are phylogenetically plastic, having evolved multiple times in the Poeciliidae under similar genetic and environmental circumstances. A prediction of such plasticity is that species of Poeciliinae should exhibit many derived changes in the morphology of the gonopodium, a condition that has indeed been observed.…”