Biology PhD Program, CUNY Graduate Center, 365
5th Ave, New York, NY 10016
Abstract
The genomics revolution continues to change how ecologists and
evolutionary biologists study the evolution and maintenance of
biodiversity. It is now easier than ever to generate large molecular
data sets consisting of hundreds to thousands of independently evolving
nuclear loci to estimate a suite of evolutionary and demographic
parameters. However, any inferences will be incomplete or inaccurate if
incorrect taxonomic identities and perpetuated throughout the analytical
pipeline. Due to decades of research and comprehensive online databases,
sequencing and analysis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), chloroplast DNA
(cpDNA) and select nuclear genes can provide researchers with a cost
effective and simple means to verify the species identity of samples
prior to subsequent phylogeographic and population genomic analysis. The
addition of these sequences to genomic studies can also shed light on
other important evolutionary questions such as explanations for gene
tree-species tree discordance, species limits, sex-biased dispersal
patterns, adaptation, and mtDNA introgression. Although the mtDNA and
cpDNA genomes often should not be used exclusively to make historical
inferences given their well-known limitations, the addition of these
data to modern genomic studies adds little cost and effort while
simultaneously providing a wealth of useful data that can have
significant implications for both basic and applied research.