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Using Phylogenetic Analysis to Investigate Eukaryotic Gene Origin
Published on: August 14, 2018
Phylogenomics of Amazonian squirrel monkeys (Saimiri: Primates, Cebidae)
Michelle P Mercês1, Hazel Byrne2, Natalie Finnegan2
1Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Belém, PA, Brazil; University of California, Los Angeles, CA, the United States of America.
None:
Phylogenetic relationships among squirrel monkeys (genus Saimiri) are still poorly resolved. Morphology-based taxonomies range from two to 12 taxa, while molecular phylogenies have recovered up to 17 different lineages. The last species account lists 11 taxa: Saimiri boliviensis boliviensis, S. boliviensis peruviensis, S. vanzolinii, S. oerstedii oerstedii, S. oerstedii citrinellus, S. sciureus, S. collinsi, S. cassiquiarensis, S. albigena, S. macrodon and S. ustus. Here we gathered a phylogenomic dataset for Saimiri using double digest restriction-site associated DNA sequencing (ddRadseq) to construct a phylogeny for squirrel monkeys in Amazonia. All the phylogenomic analyses strongly supported the division of the genus in two main clades, corresponding to the Gothic- and Roman-arch groups based on morphology, and provided strong support for five major lineages: S. boliviensis + S. vanzolinii; S. ustus; S. cassiquiariensis; S. macrodon; and S. sciureus + S. collinsi. Structure analyses showed evidence for population clusters based on geography within these lineages, but also shared ancestry across clusters, and Dsuite analyses showed evidence for gene flow across the Gothic species. Our time-calibrated tree confirmed that the diversification of Amazonian Saimiri occurred during the Pleistocene.
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