Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.
Geneva Natural History Museum, Geneva, Switzerland.
Proc Biol Sci. 2023 Aug 9;290(2004):20230797. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2023.0797.
Ecological specialists constitute relevant case studies for understanding the mechanisms, potential and limitations of evolution. The species-rich and strictly myrmecophagous spiders of the genus show diversified defence mechanisms, including myrmecomorphy of different ant species and nocturnality. Through Hybridization Capture Using RAD Probes (hyRAD), a phylogenomic technique designed for sequencing poorly preserved specimens, we reconstructed a phylogeny of using 52 (approx. a third of the nominal) species that cover its phylogenetic and distributional diversity. We then estimated the evolution of body size and colour, traits that have diversified noticeably and are linked to defence mechanisms, across the group. Our genomic matrix of 300 loci led to a well-supported phylogenetic hypothesis that uncovered two main clades inside . Ancestral state estimation revealed the highly dynamic evolution of body size and colour across the group, with multiple transitions and convergences in both traits, which we propose is likely indicative of multiple transitions in ant specialization across the genus. Our study will allow the informed targeted selection of taxa of special interest for research into the group's remarkable adaptations to ant specialization. It also exemplifies the utility of hyRAD for phylogenetic studies using museum material.
生态专家是理解进化机制、潜力和局限性的相关案例研究对象。属中的物种丰富且严格的食蚁性蜘蛛表现出多样化的防御机制，包括不同蚂蚁物种的拟态和夜间活动。通过使用 RAD 探针进行杂交捕获（hyRAD），这是一种专为保存不善的标本测序而设计的系统发生基因组技术，我们使用涵盖其系统发育和分布多样性的 52 种（约为名义上的三分之一）物种重建了的系统发育。然后，我们估计了该组中明显多样化且与防御机制相关的体型和颜色的进化。我们的 300 个基因座基因组矩阵导致了一个得到很好支持的系统发育假设，揭示了体型和颜色在整个群体中的高度动态进化，这两个特征都发生了多次转变和趋同，我们认为这可能表明该属中蚂蚁特化的多次转变。我们的研究将允许有针对性地选择对研究该组对蚂蚁特化的显著适应具有特殊兴趣的分类单元。它还例证了 hyRAD 用于使用博物馆材料进行系统发生研究的效用。
