Research article summary (published 30 Aug 2009):

Do arms races punctuate evolutionary stasis? Unified insights from phylogeny, phylogeography and microevolutionary processes.

Full Abstract

One of the major controversies in evolutionary biology concerns the processes underlying macroevolutionary patterns in which prolonged stasis is disrupted by rapid, short-term evolution that leads species to new adaptive zones. Recent advances in the understanding of contemporary evolution have suggested that such rapid evolution can occur in the wild as a result of environmental changes. Here, we examined a novel hypothesis that evolutionary stasis is punctuated by co-evolutionary arms races, which continuously alter adaptive peaks and landscapes. Based on the phylogeny of long-mouthed weevils in the genus Curculio, likelihood ratio tests showed that the macroevolutionary pattern of the weevils coincides with the punctuational evolution model. A coalescent analysis of a species, Curculio camelliae, the mouthpart of which has diverged considerably among populations because of an arms race with its host plant, further suggested that major evolutionary shifts had occurred within 7000 generations. Through a microevolutionary analysis of the species, we also found that natural selection acting through co-evolutionary interactions is potentially strong enough to drive rapid evolutionary shifts between adaptive zones. Overall, we posit that co-evolution is an important factor driving the history of organismal evolution.

Author information

Author/s: Toju, Hirokazu (H); Sota, Teiji (T);

Affiliation: Research Institute of Genome-based Biofactory, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba, Japan. hiro.toju(-atsign-)gmail.com

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Molecular ecology (Mol Ecol), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Sep; vol 18 (issue 18) : pp 3940-54

Dates: Created 2009/09/18; Completed 2009/10/26;

PMID: 19732333, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 10/26/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Animals DNA, Mitochondrial - genetics Evolution Genetics, Population Geography Haplotypes

Models, Genetic Phylogeny Selection (Genetics) Sequence Analysis, DNA Species Specificity Weevils - genetics

Associated Chemicals: DNA, Mitochondrial (0)

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