BACKGROUND: The genus Caragana encompasses multiple plant species that possess medicinal and ecological value. However, some species of Caragana are quite similar in morphology, so identifying species in this genus based on their morphological characteristics is considerably complex. In our research, illumina paired-end sequencing was employed to investigate the genetic organization and structure of Caragana tibetica and Caragana turkestanica, including the previously published chloroplast genome sequence of 7 Caragana plants.
RESULTS: The lengths of C. tibetica and C. turkestanica chloroplast genomes were 128,433 bp and 129,453 bp, respectively. The absence of inverted repeat sequences in these two species categorizes them under the inverted repeat loss clade (IRLC). They encode 110 and 111 genes (4 /4 rRNA genes, 30 /31tRNA genes, and 76 /76 protein-coding genes), respectively. Comparison of the chloroplast genomes of C. tibetica and C. turkestanica with 7 other Caragana species revealed a high overall sequence similarity. However, some divergence was observed between certain intergenic regions (matK-rbcL, psbD-psbM, atpA-psbI, and etc.). Nucleotide diversity (π) analysis revealed the detection of five highly likely variable regions, namely rps2-atpI, accD-psaI-ycf4, cemA-petA, psbN-psbH and rpoA-rps11. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that C. tibetica\'s sister species is Caragana jubata, whereas C. turkestanica\'s closest relative is Caragana arborescens.
CONCLUSIONS: The present study provides worthwhile information about the chloroplast genomes of C. tibetica and C. turkestanica, which aids in the identification and classification of Caragana species.

Structural genomic variants are key drivers of phenotypic evolution. They can span hundreds to millions of base pairs and can thus affect large numbers of genetic elements. Although structural variation is quite common within and between species, its characterization depends upon the quality of genome assemblies and the proportion of repetitive elements. Using new high-quality genome assemblies, we report a complex and previously hidden landscape of structural divergence between the genomes of Drosophila persimilis and D. pseudoobscura, two classic species in speciation research, and study the relationships among structural variants, transposable elements, and gene expression divergence. The new assemblies confirm the already known fixed inversion differences between these species. Consistent with previous studies showing higher levels of nucleotide divergence between fixed inversions relative to collinear regions of the genome, we also find a significant overrepresentation of INDELs inside the inversions. We find that transposable elements accumulate in regions with low levels of recombination, and spatial correlation analyses reveal a strong association between transposable elements and structural variants. We also report a strong association between differentially expressed (DE) genes and structural variants and an overrepresentation of DE genes inside the fixed chromosomal inversions that separate this species pair. Interestingly, species-specific structural variants are overrepresented in DE genes involved in neural development, spermatogenesis, and oocyte-to-embryo transition. Overall, our results highlight the association of transposable elements with structural variants and their importance in driving evolutionary divergence.

CONCLUSIONS: The divergence of subsect. Gerardianae was likely triggered by the uplift of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and adjacent mountains. Pinus bungeana might have probably experienced expansion since Last Interglacial period. Historical geological and climatic oscillations have profoundly affected patterns of nucleotide variability, evolutionary history, and species divergence in numerous plants of the Northern Hemisphere. However, how long-lived conifers responded to geological and climatic fluctuations in East Asia remain poorly understood. Here, based on paternally inherited chloroplast genomes and maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA markers, we investigated the population demographic history and molecular evolution of subsect. Gerardianae (only including three species, Pinus bungeana, P. gerardiana, and P. squamata) of Pinus. A low level of nucleotide diversity was found in P. bungeana (π was 0.00016 in chloroplast DNA sequences, and 0.00304 in mitochondrial DNAs). The haplotype-based phylogenetic topology and unimodal distributions of demographic analysis suggested that P. bungeana probably originated in the southern Qinling Mountains and experienced rapid population expansion since Last Interglacial period. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that P. gerardiana and P. squamata had closer genetic relationship. The species divergence of subsect. Gerardianae occurred about 27.18 million years ago (Mya) during the middle to late Oligocene, which was significantly associated with the uplift of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and adjacent mountains from the Eocene to the mid-Pliocene. The molecular evolutionary analysis showed that two chloroplast genes (psaI and ycf1) were under positive selection, the genetic lineages of P. bungeana exhibited higher transition and nonsynonymous mutations, which were involved with the strongly environmental adaptation. These findings shed light on the population evolutionary history of white pine species and provide striking insights for comprehension of their species divergence and molecular evolution.

Climatic changes have caused major environmental restructuring throughout the world\'s oceans. Marine organisms have responded to novel conditions through various biological systems, including genomic adaptation. Growing accessibility of next-generation DNA sequencing methods to study nonmodel species has recently allowed genomic changes underlying environmental adaptations to be investigated. This study used double-digest restriction-site associated DNA (ddRAD) sequence data to investigate the genomic basis of ecotype formation across currently recognized species and subspecies of bottlenose dolphins (genus Tursiops) in the Southern Hemisphere. Subspecies-level genomic divergence was confirmed between the offshore common bottlenose dolphin (T. truncatus truncatus) and the inshore Lahille\'s bottlenose dolphin (T. t. gephyreus) from the southwestern Atlantic Ocean (SWAO). Similarly, subspecies-level divergence is suggested between inshore (eastern Australia) Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (T. aduncus) and the proposed Burrunan dolphin (T. australis) from southern Australia. Inshore bottlenose dolphin lineages generally had lower genomic diversity than offshore lineages, a pattern particularly evident for T. t. gephyreus, which showed exceptionally low diversity. Genomic regions associated with cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, and energy production systems appear to have undergone repeated adaptive evolution in inshore lineages across the Southern Hemisphere. We hypothesize that comparable selective pressures in the inshore environment drove similar adaptive responses in each lineage, supporting parallel evolution of inshore bottlenose dolphins. With climate change altering marine ecosystems worldwide, it is crucial to gain an understanding of the adaptive capacity of local species and populations. Our study provides insights into key adaptive pathways that may be important for the long-term survival of cetaceans and other organisms in a changing marine environment.

Spatially and temporally varying selection can maintain genetic variation within and between populations, but it is less well known how these forces influence divergence between closely related species. We identify the interaction of temporal and spatial variation in selection and their role in either reinforcing or eroding divergence between two closely related Mimulus species. Using repeated reciprocal transplant experiments with advanced generation hybrids, we compare the strength of selection on quantitative traits involved in adaptation and reproductive isolation in Mimulus guttatus and Mimulus laciniatus between two years with dramatically different water availability. We found strong divergent habitat-mediated selection on traits in the direction of species differences during a drought in 2013, suggesting that spatially varying selection maintains species divergence. However, a relaxation in divergent selection on most traits in an unusually wet year (2019), including flowering time, which is involved in pre-zygotic isolation, suggests that temporal variation in selection may weaken species differences. Therefore, we find evidence that temporally and spatially varying selection may have opposing roles in mediating species boundaries. Given our changing climate, future growing seasons are expected to be more similar to the dry year, suggesting that in this system climate change may actually increase species divergence.

True morels (Morchella) are a well-known edible fungi, with economically and medicinally important values. However, molecular identification and species taxonomy of the genus Morchella have long been controversial, due to numerous intermediate morphologies among species. In this study, we determined the identification efficiency of DNA barcoding and species classification of 260 individuals from 45 Morchella species, on the basis of multiple nuclear DNA markers. DNA barcoding analysis showed that the individual DNA fragment has a lower resolution of species identification than that of combined multiple DNA markers. ITS showed the highest level of species discrimination among the individual genetic markers. Interestingly, the combined DNA markers significantly increased the resolution of species identification. A combination of four DNA genes (EF1-α, RPB1, RPB2 and ITS) showed a higher species delimitation than that any combination of two or three markers. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that the species in genus Morchella could have been divided into two large genetic clades, the Elata Clade and Esculenta Clade lineages. The two lineages divided approximately 133.11 Mya [95% HPD interval: 82.77-197.95] in the early Cretaceous period. However, some phylogenetic species of Morchella showed inconsistent evolutionary relationships with the traditional morphological classifications, which may have resulted from incomplete lineage sorting and/or introgressive hybridization among species. These findings demonstrate that the interspecific gene introgression may have affected the species identification of true morels, and that the combined DNA markers significantly improve the resolution of species discrimination.

Contemporary hybrid zones act as natural laboratories for the investigation of species boundaries and may shed light on the little understood roles of sex chromosomes in species divergence. Sex chromosomes are considered to function as a hotspot of genetic divergence between species; indicated by less genomic introgression compared to autosomes during hybridization. Moreover, they are thought to contribute to Haldane\'s rule, which states that hybrids of the heterogametic sex are more likely to be inviable or sterile. To test these hypotheses, we used contemporary hybrid zones of Ischnura elegans, a damselfly species that has been expanding its range into the northern and western regions of Spain, leading to chronic hybridization with its sister species Ischnura graellsii. We analysed genome-wide SNPs in the Spanish I. elegans and I. graellsii hybrid zone and found (i) that the X chromosome shows less genomic introgression compared to autosomes, and (ii) that males are underrepresented among admixed individuals, as predicted by Haldane\'s rule. This is the first study in Odonata that suggests a role of the X chromosome in reproductive isolation. Moreover, our data add to the few studies on species with X0 sex determination system and contradict the hypothesis that the absence of a Y chromosome causes exceptions to Haldane\'s rule.

Geographical scale might be expected to impact significantly the efficiency of DNA barcoding as spatially comprehensive sampling provides opportunities to uncover intricate relationships among closely related species and to detect cryptic diversity for widespread taxa. Here, we present a DNA barcoding study on a Xencyprididae subfamily (Culterinae) involving the production of 998 newly generated DNA barcodes from East Asian drainages (80 localities). Together with 513 barcodes mined from BOLD and GenBank, a reference library consisting of 1511 DNA barcodes (116 localities) for 42 species was assembled, accounting for 66% of known Culterinae species. Intraspecific genetic distances are positively correlated to geographical scale, while a negative correlation is detected between interspecific genetic distances and geographical scale. The present study demonstrates that geographical scale influences the efficiency of DNA barcoding by narrowing the width of the barcoding gap. DNA-based species delimitation analyses delimited 44 molecular operational taxonomic units (MOTUs). Rampant cryptic diversity is detected within eight species with multiple MOTUs, whereas 25 species present mismatch between morphological and molecular delimitations. A total of 18 species are lumped into nine MOTUs due to low interspecific divergence and/or mixed lineages. Several MOTU divergences are hypothesized to relate to known biogeographical barriers and geological events during the Pliocene and Pleistocene. This study provides new insights into the taxonomy and phylogeography of the subfamily Culterinae.

Understanding patterns of population differentiation and gene flow in insect vectors of plant diseases is crucial for the implementation of management programs of disease. We investigated morphological and genome-wide variation across the distribution range of the spittlebug Philaenus spumarius (Linnaeus, 1758) (Hemiptera, Auchenorrhyncha, Aphrophoridae), presently the most important vector of the plant pathogenic bacterium Xylella fastidiosa Wells et al., 1987 in Europe. We found genome-wide divergence between P. spumarius and a very closely related species, P. tesselatus Melichar, 1899, at RAD sequencing markers. The two species may be identified by the morphology of male genitalia but are not differentiated at mitochondrial COI, making DNA barcoding with this gene ineffective. This highlights the importance of using integrative approaches in taxonomy. We detected admixture between P. tesselatus from Morocco and P. spumarius from the Iberian Peninsula, suggesting gene-flow between them. Within P. spumarius, we found a pattern of isolation-by-distance in European populations, likely acting alongside other factors restricting gene flow. Varying levels of co-occurrence of different lineages, showing heterogeneous levels of admixture, suggest other isolation mechanisms. The transatlantic populations of North America and Azores were genetically closer to the British population analyzed here, suggesting an origin from North-Western Europe, as already detected with mitochondrial DNA. Nevertheless, these may have been produced through different colonization events. We detected SNPs with signatures of positive selection associated with environmental variables, especially related to extremes and range variation in temperature and precipitation. The population genomics approach provided new insights into the patterns of divergence, gene flow and adaptation in these spittlebugs and led to several hypotheses that require further local investigation.

BACKGROUND: Currently, Tigers (the top predator of an ecosystem) are on the list of endangered species. Thus the need is to understand the tiger\'s population genomics to design their conservation strategies.
OBJECTIVE: We analyzed the molecular evolution of tiger diversity using NADH dehydrogenase subunit 4 (ND4), a significant electron transport chain component.
METHODS: We have analyzed nucleotide composition and distribution pattern of ND genes, molecular evolution, evolutionary conservation pattern and conserved blocks of NADH, phylogenomics of ND4, and estimating species divergence, etc., using different bioinformatics tools and software, and MATLAB programming and computing environment.
RESULTS: The nucleotide composition and distribution pattern of ND genes in the tiger genome demonstrated an increase in the number of adenine (A) and a lower trend of A+T content in some place of the distribution analysis. However, the observed distributions were not significant (P > 0.05). Evolutionary conservation analysis showed three highly align blocks (186 to 198, 406 to 416, and 527 to 545). On mapping the molecular evolution of ND4 among model species (n = 30), we observed its presence in a broader range of species. ND4 based molecular evolution of tiger diversity and time divergence for a tiger (20 different other species) shows that genus Panthera originated more or less at a similar time.
CONCLUSIONS: The nucleotide composition and nucleotide distribution pattern of tiger ND genes showed the evolutionary pattern and origin of tiger and Panthera lineage concerning the molecular clock, which will help to understand their adaptive evolution.