title: Is the COI barcoding gene involved in speciation through intergenomic conflict?
abstract: We here test the proposition that changes in the barcoding region of COI are commonly involved in speciation through intergenomic conflict. We demonstrate that this is unlikely given that even with incomplete taxon sampling, 78-90% of closely-related animal species have identical COI amino acid sequences. In addition, in those cases where amino acid substitutions between closely related species are observed, the inter- and intra-specific substitution patterns are very similar and/or lack consistent differences in the number, position and type of amino acid change. Overall, we conclude that there is little evidence for a widespread involvement of the barcoding gene in speciation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117543, Singapore.
authors.forename: Shiyang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kwong
authors.forename: Amrita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Srivathsan
authors.forename: Gaurav
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vaidya
authors.forename: Rudolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Meier
mesh_terms: D019943:Amino Acid Substitution; D058893:DNA Barcoding, Taxonomic; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV / Q000235:genetics*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV