Whole genomes from the extinct Xerces Blue butterfly can help identify declining insect species
The Xerces Blue ( Glaucopsyche xerces ) is considered to be the first butterfly to become extinct in historical times. It was notable for its chalky lavender wings with conspicuous white spots on the ventral wings. The last individuals were collected in their restricted habitat, in the dunes near the Presidio military base in San Francisco, in 1941. We sequenced the genomes of four 80- to 100-year-old Xerces Blue, and seven historical and one modern specimens of its closest relative, the Silvery Blue ( Glaucopsyche lygdamus ). We compared these to a novel annotated genome of the Green-Underside Blue ( Glaucopsyche alexis ). Phylogenetic relationships inferred from complete mitochondrial genomes indicate that Xerces Blue was a distinct species that diverged from the Silvery Blue lineage at least 850,000 years ago. Using nuclear genomes, both species experienced population growth during the Eemian interglacial period, but the Xerces Blue decreased to a very low effective population size subsequently, a trend opposite to that observed in the Silvery Blue. Runs of homozygosity and deleterious load in the former were significantly greater than in the later, suggesting a higher incidence of inbreeding. These signals of population decline observed in Xerces Blue could be used to identify and monitor other insects threatened by human activities, whose extinction patterns are still not well known.
Authors
- Claudia Fontsere (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2233-6026)
- Esther Lizano (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3304-9807)
- Robert K. Robbins (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4137-786X)
- Roger Vila (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2447-4388)
- Toni de-Dios (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9260-8846)
- Josefin Stiller (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6009-9581)
- Laia Llovera (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5836-593X)
- Berta Caballero‐López (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2649-6353)
- Alejandro Sánchez‐Gracia (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4543-4577)
- Carles Lalueza‐Fox (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1730-5914)
- Arcadi Navarro (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2162-8246)
- Mark Blaxter (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2861-949X)
- Marcela Uliano‐Silva (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6723-4715)
- Sergi Civit (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2511-4579)
- Pere Renom
- Charlotte J Wright (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3971-4372)
- Tomàs Marquès
Institutions
- Smithsonian Institution (US)
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ES)
- Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ES)
- University of Copenhagen (DK)
- Wellcome Sanger Institute (GB)
- Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona (ES)
- Evolutionary Genomics (United States) (US)
- Institut de Biologia Evolutiva (ES)
- Centre for Genomic Regulation (ES)
- Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ES)
- Genomics (United Kingdom) (GB)
- Institute of Science and Technology
- University of Tartu (EE)
- Universitat de Barcelona (ES)
Publication Details
- Journal
- eLife
- Published
- 2024-09-23
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.7554/elife.87928.3
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Lepidoptera: Biology and Taxonomy
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.10
Funders
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute
- Wellcome Trust
- Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades
- Generalitat de Catalunya
- Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación
- Agencia Estatal de Investigación