Department of Entomology, College of Plant Protection, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
MOA Key Lab of Pest Monitoring and Green Management, College of Plant Protection, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
Sci Adv. 2024 Jun 14;10(24):eadl2286. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adl2286. Epub 2024 Jun 12.
Müllerian mimicry was proposed to be an example of a coevolved mutualism promoted by population isolation in glacial refugia. This, however, has not been well supported in butterfly models. Here, we use genomic data to test this theory while examining the population genetics behind mimetic diversification in a pair of co-mimetic bumble bees, Smith and Smith. In both lineages, populations were structured by geography but not as much by color pattern, suggesting sharing of color alleles across regions of restricted gene flow and formation of mimicry complexes in the absence of genetic differentiation. Demographic analyses showed mismatches between historical effective population size changes and glacial cycles, and niche modeling revealed only mild habitat retraction during glaciation. Moreover, mimetic subpopulations of the same color form in the two lineages only in some cases exhibit similar population history and genetic divergence. Therefore, the current study supports a more complex history in this comimicry than a simple refugium-coevolution model.
米勒氏拟态被认为是一个由冰川避难所中的种群隔离促进的共同进化互利共生的例子。然而，蝴蝶模型并没有很好地支持这一理论。在这里，我们使用基因组数据来检验这一理论，同时研究了一对共同拟态熊蜂——史密斯和史密斯——中拟态多样化背后的种群遗传学。在这两个谱系中，种群结构是由地理因素决定的，但不是由颜色模式决定的，这表明在基因流动受限的区域共享颜色等位基因，并在没有遗传分化的情况下形成拟态复合体。人口统计分析显示，历史有效种群大小变化与冰川周期不匹配，而生态位建模仅显示在冰川作用期间栖息地略有退缩。此外，这两个谱系中相同颜色的拟态亚群仅在某些情况下表现出相似的种群历史和遗传分化。因此，目前的研究支持在这种共拟态中存在比简单避难所-共同进化模型更复杂的历史。
