Phylogenetic Analysis of Spider Specimens Collected from the Tropical Butterfly Conservatory, Tiruchirappalli, South India
M V Gayathri *
Department of Zoology, Holy Cross College (Autonomous), Affiliated to the Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, 620 022, Tamil Nadu, India.
Horne Iona Averal
Department of Zoology, Holy Cross College (Autonomous), Affiliated to the Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, 620 022, Tamil Nadu, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
This study investigates the phylogenetic relationships among five spider species using a combination of molecular techniques. This study effectively identified species by analyzing the COI gene, a common genetic marker. DNA was extracted and amplified using specific primers, and the resulting sequences showed a high degree of similarity (98-99%) to known species, validating the method's reliability. Phylogenetic analysis, conducted using the Neighbour-Joining method with bootstrap support, produced a clear phylogenetic tree. Notably, the resulting Dendrogram, constructed using UPGMA in NTSYS spc2.2 software, revealed distinct clades among the spider species. Our findings demonstrate a discrepancy between the phylogenetic relationships inferred from molecular data and those based on morphological characteristics. This discrepancy underscores the critical role of molecular tools in accurate taxonomic classification and a deeper understanding of spider evolutionary history.
Keywords: Spider Phylogeny, mitochondrial COI, molecular phylogenetics, taxonomic classification, evolutionary relationships