title: A phylogenetic perspective on larval spine morphology in Leucorrhinia (Odonata: Libellulidae) based on ITS1, 5.8S, and ITS2 rDNA sequences.
abstract: Leucorrhinia (Odonata, Anisoptera, Libellulidae) consists of 14-15 species with a holarctic distribution. We have combined the morphological characters of a previous study with sequence data from the ITS1, 5.8S rDNA, and ITS2 regions of the nuclear ribosomal repeat. Cloning was used to investigate the intra-individual variation and such variation was found in all investigated species. Parsimony jackknifing was used to identify supported groups. The effect of sequence alignment and gap coding was explored by a modified sensitivity analysis. Loss of spines in Leucorrhinia larvae has occurred twice: once in Europe and once in North America. The role of spines as a defence against predation is discussed in a phylogenetic context.
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, Swedish Museum of Natural History and Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, P.O. Box 500 07, 10405 Stockholm, Sweden. rasmus.hovmoller@nrm.se
authors.forename: Rasmus
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hovmöller
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Johansson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism; D021901:DNA, Intergenic / Q000235:genetics*; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics*; D019992:Databases as Topic; D014644:Genetic Variation; D007313:Insecta / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics*; D007814:Larva / Q000502:physiology*; D010802:Phylogeny; D012340:RNA, Ribosomal, 5.8S / Q000235:genetics*; D012984:Software; D013131:Spine / Q000196:embryology
chemical_list: D021901:DNA, Intergenic; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D012340:RNA, Ribosomal, 5.8S