Table 1 The approach of tree and gene thinking for the study of coevolution
Rationale of coevolutionary
perspectives
Common
mechanisms
Coevolutionary
outcomes
Example(s)
Genetic. Genes carry sequence
information that determines
how living organisms inherit
phenotypic traits and interact
with the environment. Genome
comprises the totality of genetic
material carried by an organism.
Within species, the majority of
nucleotides are identical, but
genetic diversity is determined
by the sampling of several
individuals. The comparison of
several aspects of genes and
genomes such as genome size,
CG content, or karyotype,
among species, allows to
determine what mechanisms
produce genome diversity (i.e.,
species diversity). When
interacting species (or
interacting entities such as cell
organelles) influences each
other’s evolution, a change in a
gene or the entire genome of one
interactor stimulates the change
in the genetic machinery of the
other
Reciprocal
mutation
Duplication
Horizontal
gene transfer
Matching genetic
features of interacting
entities
Matching burst of
diversification with
genetic novelty of
interacting species
Genome/gene duplications
involved in the
achievement of
evolutionary novelty,
matching with speciation/
radiation events of
interacting species [45, 47]
Horizontal gene transfer
(the special case of
plasmids and bacteria) [78,
80]
Phylogenetic. Living and
extinct organisms are the result
of organic descent from earlier
ancestor. Their evolutionary
relationships can be depicted
through diagrammatic
hypothesis – phylogenetic tree –
based on inference methods that
evaluate observed heritable
traits. Phylogenies recap process
occurring within populations.
The tips of a phylogenetic tree
can be living organisms or
fossil, and represent the “end” or
the present in an evolutionary
lineage. Close interaction
between taxa influences tree
topology of the interacting
groups. Every time a taxa
speciate, the other speciate as
well. Thus, the phylogenetic
trees of closely interacting
organism – pathogens,
herbivores, parasites,
pollinators, and their host – are
expected to have same shape
and match when laid on top of
each other
Cospeciation
Synchronous
and
asynchronous
adaptive
radiation
Matching tree
topologies of
antagonistic/
mutualistic
interacting taxa
Phylogenetic congruence
of plant–herbivore
associations [100, 123]
Sequential speciation/
radiation of plant and
herbivores lineages [1, 60,
95, 134]
54
E. Kariñho-Betancourt
Rationale of coevolutionary
perspectives
Common
mechanisms
Coevolutionary
outcomes
Example(s)
Genetic. Genes carry sequence
information that determines
how living organisms inherit
phenotypic traits and interact
with the environment. Genome
comprises the totality of genetic
material carried by an organism.
Within species, the majority of
nucleotides are identical, but
genetic diversity is determined
by the sampling of several
individuals. The comparison of
several aspects of genes and
genomes such as genome size,
CG content, or karyotype,
among species, allows to
determine what mechanisms
produce genome diversity (i.e.,
species diversity). When
interacting species (or
interacting entities such as cell
organelles) influences each
other’s evolution, a change in a
gene or the entire genome of one
interactor stimulates the change
in the genetic machinery of the
other
Reciprocal
mutation
Duplication
Horizontal
gene transfer
Matching genetic
features of interacting
entities
Matching burst of
diversification with
genetic novelty of
interacting species
Genome/gene duplications
involved in the
achievement of
evolutionary novelty,
matching with speciation/
radiation events of
interacting species [45, 47]
Horizontal gene transfer
(the special case of
plasmids and bacteria) [78,
80]
Phylogenetic. Living and
extinct organisms are the result
of organic descent from earlier
ancestor. Their evolutionary
relationships can be depicted
through diagrammatic
hypothesis – phylogenetic tree –
based on inference methods that
evaluate observed heritable
traits. Phylogenies recap process
occurring within populations.
The tips of a phylogenetic tree
can be living organisms or
fossil, and represent the “end” or
the present in an evolutionary
lineage. Close interaction
between taxa influences tree
topology of the interacting
groups. Every time a taxa
speciate, the other speciate as
well. Thus, the phylogenetic
trees of closely interacting
organism – pathogens,
herbivores, parasites,
pollinators, and their host – are
expected to have same shape
and match when laid on top of
each other
Cospeciation
Synchronous
and
asynchronous
adaptive
radiation
Matching tree
topologies of
antagonistic/
mutualistic
interacting taxa
Phylogenetic congruence
of plant–herbivore
associations [100, 123]
Sequential speciation/
radiation of plant and
herbivores lineages [1, 60,
95, 134]
54
E. Kariñho-Betancourt