title: Population Genetics of Overwintering Monarch Butterflies, Danaus plexippus (Linnaeus), from Central Mexico Inferred from Mitochondrial DNA and Microsatellite Markers.
abstract: Population genetic variation and demographic history in Danaus plexippus (L.), from Mexico were assessed based on analyses of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI; 658 bp) and subunit II (COII; 503 bp) gene segments and 7 microsatellite loci. The sample of 133 individuals included both migratory monarchs, mainly from 4 overwintering sites within the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (MBBR) in central Mexico (states of Michoacán and México), and a nonmigratory population from Irapuato, Guanajuato. Haplotype (h) and nucleotide (π) diversities were relatively low, averaging 0.466 and 0.00073, respectively, for COI, and 0.629 and 0.00245 for COII. Analysis of molecular variance of the COI data set, which included additional GenBank sequences from a nonmigratory Costa Rican population, showed significant population structure between Mexican migratory monarchs and nonmigratory monarchs from both Mexico and Costa Rica, suggesting limited gene flow between the 2 behaviorally distinct groups. Interestingly, while the COI haplotype frequencies of the nonmigratory populations differed from the migratory, they were similar to each other, despite the great physical distance between them. Microsatellite analyses, however, suggested a lack of structure between the 2 groups, possibly owing to the number of significant deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium resulting from heterzoygote deficiencies found for most of the loci. Estimates of demographic history of the combined migratory MBBR monarch population, based on the mismatch distribution and Bayesian skyline analyses of the concatenated COI and COII data set (n = 89) suggested a population expansion dating to the late Pleistocene (~35000-40000 years before present) followed by a stable effective female population size (Nef) of about 6 million over the last 10000 years.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo, A.C., Unidad Guaymas, Guaymas, Sonora, México.
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pfeiler
authors.affiliation: Irapuato, Guanajuato, México.
authors.forename: Nestor O
authors.initials: NO
authors.lastname: Nazario-Yepiz
authors.affiliation: Irapuato, Guanajuato, México.
authors.forename: Fernan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pérez-Gálvez
authors.affiliation: Irapuato, Guanajuato, México.
authors.forename: Cristina Alejandra
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Chávez-Mora
authors.affiliation: Irapuato, Guanajuato, México.
authors.forename: Mariana Ramírez Loustalot
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Laclette
authors.affiliation: World Wildlife Fund-Mexico, Programa Mariposa Monarca, Michoacán, México
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rendón-Salinas
authors.affiliation: Irapuato, Guanajuato, México.|Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA.
authors.forename: Therese Ann
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Markow
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D044822:Biodiversity; D002080:Butterflies / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D005784:Gene Amplification; D050259:Genes, Mitochondrial; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005828:Genetics, Population; D006239:Haplotypes; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D011156:Population Density
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial
keywords: Bayesian skyline analysis; demographic history; effective population size; genetic diversity; haplotype networks; mismatch distribution; population structure