研究人员利用二十年的行为学研究和历史DNA分析，揭示了与宿主的共同演化是雏寄生青铜鹃物种分化的基础。在宏观演化尺度上，研究人员发现与病毒性较弱的非寄生类群相比，病毒性较强的雏寄生类群具有更高的物种演化率，并且更有可能在共生关系中发生物种演化。
研究人员揭示了物种变异的微观演化过程：宿主排斥杜鹃雏鸟，这就选择了模仿杜鹃雏鸟的形态。在杜鹃利用多种宿主的情况下，对模仿的选择推动了与宿主偏好相对应的遗传和表型分化，即使在同域中也是如此。该工作阐明了可能是最常见但特征不明显的生物多样化演化过程。
据介绍，相互作用的物种之间的共同演化被认为会增加生物多样性，但将微观演化过程与宏观演化模式联系起来的证据却很少。
附：英文原文
Title: Coevolution with hosts underpins speciation in brood-parasitic cuckoos
Author: N. E. Langmore, A. Grealy, H.-J. Noh, I. Medina, A. Skeels, J. Grant, K. D. Murray, R. M. Kilner, C. E. Holleley
Issue&Volume: 2024-05-31
Abstract: Coevolution between interacting species is thought to increase biodiversity, but evidence linking microevolutionary processes to macroevolutionary patterns is scarce. We leveraged two decades of behavioral research coupled with historical DNA analysis to reveal that coevolution with hosts underpins speciation in brood-parasitic bronze-cuckoos. At a macroevolutionary scale, we show that highly virulent brood-parasitic taxa have higher speciation rates and are more likely to speciate in sympatry than less-virulent and nonparasitic relatives. We reveal the microevolutionary process underlying speciation: Hosts reject cuckoo nestlings, which selects for mimetic cuckoo nestling morphology. Where cuckoos exploit multiple hosts, selection for mimicry drives genetic and phenotypic divergence corresponding to host preference, even in sympatry. Our work elucidates perhaps the most common, but poorly characterized, evolutionary process driving biological diversification.
DOI: adj3210
Source: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adj3210