Research article summary (published 30 Mar 1998):

Evolution on a volcanic conveyor belt: using phylogeographic reconstructions and K-Ar-based ages of the Hawaiian Islands to estimate molecular evolutionary rates.

Full Abstract

The Hawaiian Islands form as the Pacific Plate moves over a 'hot spot' in the earth's mantle where magma extrudes through the crust to build huge shield volcanos. The islands subside and erode as the plate carries them to the north-west, eventually to become coral atolls and seamounts. Thus islands are ordered linearly by age, with the oldest islands in the north-west (e.g. Kauai at 5.1 Ma) and the youngest in the south-east (e.g. Hawaii at 0.43 Ma). K-Ar estimates of the date of an island's formation provide a maximum age for the taxa inhabiting the island. These ages can be used to calibrate rates of molecular change under the following assumptions: (i) K-Ar dates are accurate; (ii) tree topologies show that derivation of taxa parallels the timing of island formation; (iii) populations do not colonize long after island emergence; (iv) the coalescent point for sister taxa does not greatly predate the formation of the colonized younger island; (v) saturation effects and (vi) among-lineage rate variation are minimal or correctable; and (vii) unbiased standard errors of distances and regressions can be estimated from multiple pairwise comparisons. We use the approach to obtain overall corrected rate calibrations for: (i) part of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene in Hawaiian drepanidines (0.016 sequence divergence/Myr); (ii) the Yp1 gene in Hawaiian Drosophila (0.019/Myr Kambysellis et al. 1995); and (iii) parts of the mitochondrial 12S and 16S rRNA and tRNAval in Laupala crickets (0.024-0.102/Myr, Shaw 1996). We discuss the reliability of the estimates given the assumptions (i-vii) above and contrast the results with previous calibrations of Adh in Hawaiian Drosophila and chloroplast DNA in lobeliods.

Author information

Author/s: Fleischer, R C (RC); McIntosh, C E (CE); Tarr, C L (CL);

Affiliation: Molecular Genetics Laboratory, National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20008, USA.

Journal and publication information

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

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

Reference: 1998-Apr; vol 7 (issue 4) : pp 533-45

Dates: Created 1998/06/30; Completed 1998/06/30; Revised 2008/11/21;

PMID: 9628004, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, 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 Argon - chemistry Birds - classification; genetics Cytochrome b Group - chemistry; genetics DNA, Mitochondrial - chemistry; genetics Drosophila - classification; genetics Drosophila Proteins Evolution, Molecular Genetic Variation - genetics Geography Gryllidae - classification; genetics

Gryllidae - classification; genetics Hawaii Phylogeny Potassium - chemistry RNA, Ribosomal - chemistry; genetics RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - chemistry; genetics RNA, Transfer, Val - chemistry; genetics Sequence Alignment Sequence Analysis, DNA Vitellogenins - chemistry; genetics Volcanic Eruptions

Associated Chemicals: Cytochrome b Group (0) ; DNA, Mitochondrial (0) ; Drosophila Proteins (0) ; RNA, Ribosomal (0) ; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S (0) ; RNA, Transfer, Val (0) ; RNA, ribosomal, 12S (0) ; Vitellogenins (0) ; YP1 protein, Drosophila (0) ; Potassium (7440-09-7) ; Argon (7440-37-1)

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