Molecular phylogenies of figs and fig-pollinating wasps in the Ryukyu and Bonin (Ogasawara) islands, Japan

A strict host specificity between figs and their pollinating wasps persists in the Ryukyu and Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands, Japan, despite being at the edge of their distribution. Molecular phylogenetic analyses using plastid DNA, nuclear ITS sequences for figs, and nuclear 28S rRNA and mitochondrial COI genes for fig-wasps revealed single clades per species, with well-supported clades for figs belonging to the same subgenera and their associated wasps. Minimal intraspecific variation and no significant geographic structure were observed. The study suggests that two Bonin endemic fig species (Ficus boninsimae and F. nishimurae) likely migrated from the Ryukyu Islands, sharing a common ancestor with Ficus erecta and its associated fig-wasps.

Azuma, H., Harrison, R. D., Nakamura, K., & Su, Z.-H. (2010). Molecular phylogenies of figs and fig-pollinating wasps in the Ryukyu and Bonin (Ogasawara) islands, Japan. Genes & Genetic Systems, 85(3), 177–192. https://doi.org/10.1266/ggs.85.177