Speaker: Bing Zhang (a postdoc in Peking University)
Title: DNA barcoding in Collembola (Arthropoda: Hexapoda): connects taxonomy, ecology, phylogeny, and phylogeography
Host: the Ecology, Conservation, & Environment Center (ECEC, KIZ, CAS)
Time: August 1 (Thursday) 2019, 14:00 p.m.
Venue: Laboratory of Southwestern Biodiversity, 1st floor conference room (1-25)
Short introduction:
Bing Zhang is a Bo-ya postdoc in Peking University. He got his bachelor and master degrees in Jilin University and got his Ph.D in University of Goettingen in Germany. He has a general interest in soil-dwelling-animal related studies. His research focuses on soil food webs, molecular phylogeny, and phylogeography of Collembola (Arthropoda: Hexapoda). His recent project explores the phylogenetic relationships between populations of different species over evolutionary time in order to understand the factors that are driving divergence and speciation, and the factors that shape the current spatial distribution of Collembola. He is exploring new DNA-based approaches for soil ecological studies, such as soil food web analysis (gut content analysis using metabarcoding), community ecology (metabarcoding combined with mitogenomics), and biogeography (phylogenomics).
Abstract of the talk：
He uses DNA barcoding to amplify an approximate 600 bp fragment of a mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) gene, and then compares the sequence with previously identified sequences in an existing database to classify the species. The development of DNA barcoding triggered the discovery of cryptic species, e.g., genetically distinct lineages in morphologically undifferentiated species. On one hand, DNA barcoding provides great help to traditional taxonomists to distinguish close-related morphospecies, while on the other hand it brings new problems referring to species delimitation. Collembola (Arthropoda, Hexapoda) are one of the most numerous soil-living animals occurring in virtually all terrestrial ecosystems and habitats. Species delimitation is particularly difficult in Collembola due to considerable morphological conservatism, and many Collembola species comprise high genetic divergence and high cryptic species diversity. DNA-based methods provide useful tools for species delimitation, phylogenetic reconstruction, and lineage divergence time estimation. By analyzing two mitochondrial and two nuclear genes from three morphospecies of the European Lepidocyrtus lanuginosus species group (Collembola: Entomobryidae) from different geographic regions of Europe, the presentation focuses on exploring cryptic species / lineages diversity, their phylogeny, and the effects of historical geographic and climatic changes on the divergence and distribution of this species group in Europe.
Everyone is welcome!
