Evolutionary patterns and phylogeny of tits and chickadees (genus Parus) based on the sequence of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene

Abstract

The phylogenetic relationships of seven European and three American Parus (Aves: Paridae) species were examined by sequencing 439 nucleotides of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. There were 60 phylogenetically informative sites out of 109 variable sites. The transition/transversion ratios varied from 0.91 to 6.5 between the species pairs and the Kimura's two parameter distances from 0.02 to 0.13. Subgenus Poecile consists of two clades, one with Parus cinctus, P. carolinensis andP. atricapillus and the other with P. palustris and P. montanus . P. ater and P. cristatus are grouped together in a DNA-parsimony tree but not in the neighborjoining tree. These two species share an unusual deletion of glycine 167. P. major and P. caeruleus are the closest species pair in this study. Our results confirm the recent proposition of placing them into one subgenus, instead of two. A new nuclear copy of the cytochrome b gene (sharing 63% homology to the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene) was found from P. montanus and P. atricapillus . This pseudogene is of very ancient origin .