Abstract
Wolbachia is a common group of intracellular bacteria found in arthropods and filarial nematodes. Since the past decade, they have attracted considerable interest owing to their various effects on hosts, which range from reproductive manipulation to mutualism. Moreover, they can influence the mitochondrial DNA pattern which do not reflect the real evolutionary history of the target species and may be incongruent with nuclear data. Previously, Wolbachia-manipulated mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) patterns, namely mito-nuclear discordance and deep mitochondrial splits associated with specific Wolbachia infections, have been also discovered in the genus Maculinea. Here, we present a comprehensive study on Wolbachia infestation and the genetic diversity of all Maculinea species in the Carpathian Basin. The prevalence and the pattern of the infestation highly differ among Maculinea species. Maculinea alcon and Maculinea arion are infected in 100 %, each of these species with a single strain, but the infection level of Maculinea nausithous and Maculinea teleius is much lower, additionally, they are infected with multiple strains. The genetic diversity of Maculinea species proved to be generally low, only M. nausithous showed geographic pattern based on mitochondrial sequences and allozymes. In contrast with the previous studies, we could not detect mito-nuclear discordance or find evidence for Wolbachia-induced selective sweep. Based on our results, we cannot hold only Wolbachia responsible for the restricted genetic diversity of Maculinea in the Carpathian Basin. Probably several factors shape together the level and pattern of genetic variability in Maculinea butterflies.
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Acknowledgments
The study was supported by the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund (OTKA K109223 and K84071), János Bolyai Scholarship of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, EU EESD-ENV-2OO2-NAS (Mac Man) project and Social Renewal Operational Programme (TÁMOP-4.2.2/B-10/1-2010-0024). Grateful acknowledgments are due to S. Szabó, A. Tartally, T. Korompai, Z. Ilonczay, A. Ambrus, L. Peregovits, L. Rákosy, F. Rebousek and R. Verovnik for collecting samples. The technical assistance of V. Mester, T. Tóth, K. Kecsmár, H. Boros and B. Prokaj in the molecular work is very much respected. The support of the Nature Conservation Authorities is also greatly appreciated.
Data accessibility
DNA sequences: GenBank accessions: HG326619-HG326646, KM517249-KM517565
Sampling locations and data uploaded as online Supporting Information.
Allozyme genotypes: Dryad doi: 10.5061/dryad.v8q8r
Wolbachia WSP and MLST sequence information uploaded into Wolbachia MLST database.
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Online Resource 1
Sampling sites. Abb. – abbreviations of localities. Region – the geographic region from which the samples originate. The table includes sampling time, the number of Maculinea individuals tested for Wolbachia in parentheses and the number of individuals used in allozyme studies in bold. (PDF 238 kb)
Online Resource 2
GenBank accession numbers of the sequenced mitochondrial and nuclear genes of Maculinea butterflies as well as 16S rRNA genes of Wolbachia found in Maculinea species. ID – individual identifiers of Maculinea specimens. The infected individuals are indicated with W. Specimens from which Wolbachia strain identification was carried out are indicated with ‘+’. WSP – Wolbachia surface protein, MLST – Multilocus Sequence Typing based on five genes (gatB, coxA, hcpA, ftsZ, fbpA). (PDF 63 kb)
Online Resource 3
Results of Bayesian inference analyses of single nuclear gene datasets in Maculinea. (a) GAPDH, (b) MDH, (c) wg. (PDF 31 kb)
Online Resource 4
Results of the Bayesian-clustering Structure analysis based on 11 allozyme loci. The most probable K values are indicated in the case of each Maculinea species. See the abbreviations of populations in Online Resource 1. M. alcon: ‘pneumonanthe type’ populations are in bold. M. arion: ‘spring type’ populations are in bold. Populations belonging to the same geographic region are joined together on the upper part of each barplot. (PDF 209 kb)
Online Resource 5
COI haplotype networks for Maculinea nausithous (a) and M. teleius (b) including the sequences of Ritter et al. (2013). Colours show the geographic regions from where haplotypes originate. Circle size is proportional to haplotypes frequency. Dots on lines linking haplotypes indicate the number of mutations. A separate Wolbachia clade is present in both species but there are numerous infected individuals outside this clade. (PDF 98 kb)
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Bereczki, J., Rácz, R., Varga, Z. et al. Controversial patterns of Wolbachia infestation in the social parasitic Maculinea butterflies (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae). Org Divers Evol 15, 591–607 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13127-015-0217-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13127-015-0217-7