title: Reproductive isolation and patterns of genetic differentiation in a cryptic butterfly species complex.
abstract: Molecular studies of natural populations are often designed to detect and categorize hidden layers of cryptic diversity, and an emerging pattern suggests that cryptic species are more common and more widely distributed than previously thought. However, these studies are often decoupled from ecological and behavioural studies of species divergence. Thus, the mechanisms by which the cryptic diversity is distributed and maintained across large spatial scales are often unknown. In 1988, it was discovered that the common Eurasian Wood White butterfly consisted of two species (Leptidea sinapis and Leptidea reali), and the pair became an emerging model for the study of speciation and chromosomal evolution. In 2011, the existence of a third cryptic species (Leptidea juvernica) was proposed. This unexpected discovery raises questions about the mechanisms preventing gene flow and about the potential existence of additional species hidden in the complex. Here, we compare patterns of genetic divergence across western Eurasia in an extensive data set of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences with behavioural data on inter- and intraspecific reproductive isolation in courtship experiments. We show that three species exist in accordance with both the phylogenetic and biological species concepts and that additional hidden diversity is unlikely to occur in Europe. The Leptidea species are now the best studied cryptic complex of butterflies in Europe and a promising model system for understanding the formation of cryptic species and the roles of local processes, colonization patterns and heterospecific interactions for ecological and evolutionary divergence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden; Institut de Biologia Evolutiva (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Dincă
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wiklund
authors.forename: V A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Lukhtanov
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Kodandaramaiah
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Norén
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dapporto
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wahlberg
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vila
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Friberg
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002080:Butterflies / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000737:chemistry; D051456:Gene Flow; D005819:Genetic Markers; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005843:Geography; D010802:Phylogeny; D060047:Reproductive Isolation; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D005819:Genetic Markers; D004247:DNA
keywords: Lepidoptera: Leptidea; courtship; female mate choice; genetic structure; speciation; species concept
references.citation: PLoS One. 2012;7(10):e47214
references.pmid: 23071761
references.citation: Proc Biol Sci. 2003 Aug 7;270 Suppl 1:S96-9
references.pmid: 12952648
references.citation: Evolution. 1994 Oct;48(5):1451-1459
references.pmid: 28568419
references.citation: Am J Hum Genet. 1989 Jan;44(1):73-85
references.pmid: 2562823
references.citation: Genetica. 2002 Nov;116(2-3):269-89
references.pmid: 12555784
references.citation: Evolution. 2003 Apr;57(4):894-904
references.pmid: 12778558
references.citation: Evolution. 1989 Mar;43(2):362-381
references.pmid: 28568554
references.citation: Syst Biol. 2003 Oct;52(5):696-704
references.pmid: 14530136
references.citation: Genetica. 2001;112-113:223-43
references.pmid: 11838767
references.citation: Mol Ecol. 2006 Oct;15(12):3693-705
references.pmid: 17032267
references.citation: Nat Commun. 2011;2:324
references.pmid: 21610727
references.citation: Trends Ecol Evol. 1987 Jan;2(1):8-13
references.pmid: 21227808
references.citation: J Evol Biol. 2013 May;26(5):971-9
references.pmid: 23480828
references.citation: Trends Ecol Evol. 2007 Mar;22(3):148-55
references.pmid: 17129636
references.citation: Heredity (Edinb). 2009 Jan;102(1):77-97
references.pmid: 18685572
references.citation: Mol Ecol. 2009 Sep;18(17):3639-51
references.pmid: 19674305
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006 Jan 24;103(4):968-71
references.pmid: 16418261
references.citation: Evolution. 2007 May;61(5):1106-19
references.pmid: 17492965
references.citation: Oecologia. 2009 Feb;159(1):127-37
references.pmid: 19002503
references.citation: Proc Biol Sci. 2003 Feb 7;270(1512):313-21
references.pmid: 12614582
references.citation: J Anim Ecol. 2012 Sep;81(5):1077-85
references.pmid: 22537074
references.citation: BMC Evol Biol. 2007 Nov 08;7:214
references.pmid: 17996036
references.citation: Genetica. 2002 Nov;116(2-3):251-67
references.pmid: 12555783
references.citation: Evolution. 1996 Jun;50(3):1024-1033
references.pmid: 28565275
references.citation: Mol Ecol. 2007 Sep;16(17):3606-16
references.pmid: 17845434
references.citation: Science. 2005 Jan 21;307(5708):414-6
references.pmid: 15662011
references.citation: Evolution. 1999 Aug;53(4):1165-1179
references.pmid: 28565530
references.citation: BMC Evol Biol. 2007 Jul 19;7:121
references.pmid: 17640383
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2004 Oct 12;101(41):14812-7
references.pmid: 15465915
references.citation: Mol Ecol. 2000 Oct;9(10):1657-9
references.pmid: 11050560
references.citation: Heredity (Edinb). 2006 May;96(5):383-95
references.pmid: 16570069
references.citation: Mol Ecol. 2011 Sep;20(18):3921-35
references.pmid: 21883579
references.citation: Ecology. 2010 Jan;91(1):15-21
references.pmid: 20380190
references.citation: Evolution. 1997 Feb;51(1):295-303
references.pmid: 28568795
references.citation: Heredity (Edinb). 2009 May;102(5):490-6
references.pmid: 19156165
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006 Mar 7;103(10):3657-62
references.pmid: 16505365
references.citation: J Biol. 2007;6(4):9
references.pmid: 18177504