Phylogeographic analysis reveals a deep lineage split within North Atlantic Littorina saxatilis

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  • Meredith M. Doellman
    Northeastern University, Boston
  • Geoffrey C. Trussell
    Northeastern University, Boston
  • John Grahame
    University of Leeds
  • Steve V. Vollmer
    Northeastern University, Boston
Phylogeographic studies provide critical insight into the evolutionary histories of model organisms; yet, to date, range-wide data are lacking for the rough periwinkle Littorina saxatilis, a classic example of marine sympatric speciation. Here, we use mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence data to demonstrate that L. saxatilis is not monophyletic for this marker, but is composed of two distinct mtDNA lineages (I and II) that are shared with sister species Littorina arcana and Littorina compressa. Bayesian coalescent dating and phylogeographic patterns indicate that both L. saxatilis lineages originated in the eastern North Atlantic, around the British Isles, at approximately 0.64 Ma. Both lineages are now distributed broadly across the eastern, central and western North Atlantic, and show strong phylogeographic structure among regions. The Iberian Peninsula is genetically distinct, suggesting prolonged isolation from northeastern North Atlantic populations. Western North Atlantic populations of L. saxatilis lineages I and II predate the last glacial maximum and have been isolated from eastern North Atlantic populations since that time. This identification of two distinct, broadly distributed mtDNA lineages further complicates observed patterns of repeated incipient ecological speciation in L. saxatilis, because the sympatric origins of distinct ecotype pairs on eastern North Atlantic shores may be confounded by admixture of divergent lineages.
Original languageEnglish
JournalProceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Volume278
Issue number1722
Early online date11 Mar 2011
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 7 Nov 2011
Externally publishedYes
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