2026-08-25 東京大学
図2：ツマジロウラジャノメの各個体群におけるCOI塩基配列のハプロタイプネットワーク．
＜関連情報＞
- https://www.um.u-tokyo.ac.jp/research/umutnews/umut20260825.html
- https://jes.kglmeridian.com/view/journals/ents/aop/article-10.18474-JES26-16/article-10.18474-JES26-16.xml
中国産Lasiommata deidamia （鱗翅目：タテハチョウ科）の核遺伝子の高ヌクレオチド多様性と潜在的な新亜種 High Nucleotide Diversity of Nuclear Genes in Lasiommata deidamia (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) and a Potential New Subspecies from China
Wataru Mitsuhashi, Haruo Fukúda, Jun-ichi Asahi, Akio Tamura, Min Wang, Masaya Yago
Journal of Entomological Science Published:18 Aug 2026
DOI:https://doi.org/10.18474/JES26-16
Abstract
In Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China, we found adult butterflies whose general appearance is similar to Lasiommata deidamia (Eversmann) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) of Asia but have a wing pattern distinct from those observed in other areas. Here, we investigated taxonomic relationship between the Xuzhou butterflies and the L. deidamia based on DNA sequences and the wing morphology of these butterflies. Analysis of nuclear and mitochondrial genes revealed only minor genetic differences between the Xuzhou specimens and L. deidamia deidamia specimens, indicating that they belong to the same species. The wing length of the Xuzhou population was significantly shorter than that in populations of L. deidamia; the maximum forewing length among the Xuzhou specimens equaled the minimum forewing length of specimens from other regions, occurring in 9.1% of Xuzhou specimens and 3.6% of specimens from other regions. The differences in wing pattern suggested that the Xuzhou group is a new subspecies of L. deidamia. Interestingly, the diversity of nuclear genes, that is, percent nucleotide differences, was generally slightly higher than mitochondrial gene diversity among the butterflies examined, including the L. deidamia deidamia specimens from the areas other than Xuzhou, which contrasts with the view that evolution is far slower in nuclear genes than in mitochondrial genes in animals. Some endosymbiont bacteria Wolbachia induce the unification of mitochondrial types of host insects, and the discovery of Wolbachia with novel sequences in the specimens in broad areas suggested that the bacterium is a possible cause of this simplification in L. deidamia.
