A cytological study of Simulium ruficorne (Diptera: Simuliidae) and its relationship to the S. ornatipes species complex

Abstract

Polytene chromosome banding patterns in Simulium ruficorne populations from two island and a continental African locality were analyzed and a standard map was prepared. Distinct arrays of fixed and polymorphic rearrangements characterize unique cytotypes in Santiago Island, Tenerife, and Ivory Coast populations. Sex-chromosome differentiation where an inversion linked to the male determiner marks a Y chromosome also occurs in the Santiago Island population. No sibling species can be defined at present because of the absence of sympatric population samples. Comparison of banding patterns between S. ruficorne and the S. ornatipes–neornatipes species complex in Australia and New Caledonia shows striking similarities. Banding homology is readily established with about 90% of polytene banding recognizable between the two standards. Three inversions are shared between the lineages, further emphasizing their similarity. These results provide independent corroboration of the close relationship between S. ruficorne and S. ornatipes established from conventional taxonomy. The validity of using shared inversions and common breakpoints in phylogenetic comparisons is discussed in relation to the possibility of confusing similar but distinct rearrangements and the inversion-generating role of transposable elements. The possibility of transposable element mediated identical, independently derived, rearrangements seems unlikely, but in all studies the confusion of phylogenies by similar inversions must be carefully considered.Key words: Simulium ruficorne, polytene chromosome, inversion phylogeny.