Differential spreading of HinfI satellite DNA variants during radiation in Centaureinae

Subtribe Centaureinae appears to be an excellent model group in which to analyse satellite DNA and assess the influence that the biology and/or the evolution of different lineages have had on the evolution of this class of repetitive DNA. Phylogenetic analyses of Centaureinae support two main phases of radiation, leading to two major groups of genera of different ages. Furthermore, different modes of evolution are observed in different lineages, reflected by morphology and DNA sequences.

The sequences of 502 repeat units of the HinfI satellite DNA family from 38 species belonging to ten genera of Centaureinae were isolated and compared. A phylogenetic reconstruction was carried out by maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference.

Up to eight different HinfI subfamilies were found, based on the presence of a set of diagnostic positions given by a specific mutation shared by all the sequences of one group. Subfamilies V-VIII were mostly found in older genera (first phase of radiation in the subtribe, late Oligocene-Miocene), although some copies of these types of repeats were also found in some species of the derived genera. Subfamilies I-IV spread mostly in species of the derived clade (second phase of radiation, Pliocene to Pleistocene), although repeats of these subfamilies exist in older species. Phylogenetic trees did not group the repeats by taxonomic affinity, but sequences were grouped by subfamily provenance. Concerted evolution was observed in HinfI subfamilies spread in older genera, whereas no genetic differentiation was found between species, and several subfamilies even coexist within the same species, in recently radiated groups or in groups with a history of recurrent hybridization of lineages.

The results suggest that the eight HinfI subfamilies were present in the common ancestor of Centaureinae and that each spread differentially in different genera during the two main phases of radiation following the library model of satellite DNA evolution. Additionally, differential speciation pathways gave rise to differential patterns of sequence evolution in different lineages. Thus, the evolutionary history of each group of Centaureinae is reflected in HinfI satellite DNA evolution. The data reinforce the value of satellite DNA sequences as markers of evolutionary processes.