title: An extreme case of plant-insect codiversification: figs and fig-pollinating wasps.
abstract: It is thought that speciation in phytophagous insects is often due to colonization of novel host plants, because radiations of plant and insect lineages are typically asynchronous. Recent phylogenetic comparisons have supported this model of diversification for both insect herbivores and specialized pollinators. An exceptional case where contemporaneous plant-insect diversification might be expected is the obligate mutualism between fig trees (Ficus species, Moraceae) and their pollinating wasps (Agaonidae, Hymenoptera). The ubiquity and ecological significance of this mutualism in tropical and subtropical ecosystems has long intrigued biologists, but the systematic challenge posed by >750 interacting species pairs has hindered progress toward understanding its evolutionary history. In particular, taxon sampling and analytical tools have been insufficient for large-scale cophylogenetic analyses. Here, we sampled nearly 200 interacting pairs of fig and wasp species from across the globe. Two supermatrices were assembled: on an average, wasps had sequences from 77% of 6 genes (5.6 kb), figs had sequences from 60% of 5 genes (5.5 kb), and overall 850 new DNA sequences were generated for this study. We also developed a new analytical tool, Jane 2, for event-based phylogenetic reconciliation analysis of very large data sets. Separate Bayesian phylogenetic analyses for figs and fig wasps under relaxed molecular clock assumptions indicate Cretaceous diversification of crown groups and contemporaneous divergence for nearly half of all fig and pollinator lineages. Event-based cophylogenetic analyses further support the codiversification hypothesis. Biogeographic analyses indicate that the present-day distribution of fig and pollinator lineages is consistent with a Eurasian origin and subsequent dispersal, rather than with Gondwanan vicariance. Overall, our findings indicate that the fig-pollinator mutualism represents an extreme case among plant-insect interactions of coordinated dispersal and long-term codiversification. [Biogeography; coevolution; cospeciation; host switching; long-branch attraction; phylogeny.].
authors: INRA, UMR1062 CBGP, F-34988 Montferrier-sur-Lez, France; Jodrell Laboratory, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, TW9 3DS, UK.
authors: Astrid
authors: A
authors: Cruaud
authors: Nina
authors: N
authors: Rønsted
authors: Bhanumas
authors: B
authors: Chantarasuwan
authors: Lien Siang
authors: LS
authors: Chou
authors: Wendy L
authors: WL
authors: Clement
authors: Arnaud
authors: A
authors: Couloux
authors: Benjamin
authors: B
authors: Cousins
authors: Gwenaëlle
authors: G
authors: Genson
authors: Rhett D
authors: RD
authors: Harrison
authors: Paul E
authors: PE
authors: Hanson
authors: Martine
authors: M
authors: Hossaert-McKey
authors: Roula
authors: R
authors: Jabbour-Zahab
authors: Emmanuelle
authors: E
authors: Jousselin
authors: Carole
authors: C
authors: Kerdelhué
authors: Finn
authors: F
authors: Kjellberg
authors: Carlos
authors: C
authors: Lopez-Vaamonde
authors: John
authors: J
authors: Peebles
authors: Yan-Qiong
authors: YQ
authors: Peng
authors: Rodrigo Augusto Santinelo
authors: RA
authors: Pereira
authors: Tselil
authors: T
authors: Schramm
authors: Rosichon
authors: R
authors: Ubaidillah
authors: Simon
authors: S
authors: van Noort
authors: George D
authors: GD
authors: Weiblen
authors: Da-Rong
authors: DR
authors: Yang
authors: Anak
authors: A
authors: Yodpinyanee
authors: Ran
authors: R
authors: Libeskind-Hadas
authors: James M
authors: JM
authors: Cook
authors: Jean-Yves
authors: JY
authors: Rasplus
authors: Vincent
authors: V
authors: Savolainen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D030681:Ficus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D049810:Genetic Speciation; D010802:Phylogeny; D058974:Phylogeography; D054817:Pollination; D013559:Symbiosis; D014863:Wasps / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics