Phylogenetic and taxonomical relationships of the eight species in the melanogaster subgroup of the genus Drosophila (Sophophora) based on the electrophoretic mobility of the major chorion proteins and the eggshell ultrastructure
Mc. Kalantzi-makri et al., Phylogenetic and taxonomical relationships of the eight species in the melanogaster subgroup of the genus Drosophila (Sophophora) based on the electrophoretic mobility of the major chorion proteins and the eggshell ultrastructure, J ZOOL, 249, 1999, pp. 295-306
The eight species of the melanogaster species subgroup of the genus Drosoph
ila were compared to each other with respect to: (a) the electrophoretic mo
bility of the major chorion proteins under SDS-PAGE; (b) the overall eggshe
ll ultrastructure. The phylogenetic tree obtained using the first criterion
showed that the eight species are divided into three clusters that contain
the species of the melanogaster complex (D. melanogaster, D. sechellia, D.
mauritiana and D. simulans), the two species of the yakuba complex (D. yak
uba and D. teissieri) and the erecta complex species (D. erecta and D. oren
a). This clustering is in agreement to the generally accepted phylogeny of
the subgroup based on exclusive criteria. The eggshell ultrastructure of th
e species at the main body of the egg revealed that the phylogenetically cl
osely related species exhibit similar eggshell structure. We conclude that
the criteria applied in this study could be eventually used in groups with
unknown phylogeny to trace the phylogenetic relationships of the species.