Abstract
The selection of exemplars has been shown both theoretically and empirically to affect tree topology, but the importance of the number and nature of taxa used to represent higher taxonomic lineages in molecular studies is rarely stressed. In our rRNA study of higher moths and butterflies (Lepidoptera: Ditrysia), the selection of different exemplars and outgroups caused major tree rearrangements. We also examined the effectiveness with which conserved rRNA regions track the diversification of Lepidoptera. Homoplasy is as prevalent at the few variable sites of conserved regions (18E, 18J, 28F) as at the many variable sites of a more rapidly evolving region (2813). Finally, 2813 sequence variation differs qualitatively among lepidopteran superfamilies of presumed comparable age, the Papilionoidea (true butterflies) and Noctuoidea (cutworm moths and relatives).
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 312-337 |
| Number of pages | 26 |
| Journal | Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |
| Volume | 1 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 1992 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:We thank J. Leblanc and J. Constable for assistance in manuscript preparation. All alignments will be deposited in EMBL. The manuscript was improved by suggestions from M. Buchheim, S. Hackett, M. Hafner, M. Goodman, R. Zink, and an anonymous reviewer. Partial funding for this research was provided by joint Louisiana Education Quality Support Fund, NSF/EPSCoR Grants 86LBR [48]-048-08, and NSF Grant BSR-9006273.