Numerous insect studies have utilized 12s and 16s ribosomal subunit mtDNA as well as nuclear ribosomal ITS sequences to resolve relationships in population-level phylogenetic analyses. Here we show that PCR amplification of both of these regions from whole genomic DNA of the snakeweed grasshopper, Hesperotettix viridis (Orthoptera: Acrididae) can result in mixed PCR products. This finding violates an important assumption underlying the use of PCR in systematic analyses; namely, that PCR products from a single reaction are homogeneous and represent a single gene segment. The intra-individual heterogeneity detected in this study can hinder the use of 12s and 16s mtDNA as well as the nuclear ITS regions as markers in phylogeographic analyses.
Species 1: Orthoptera Acrididae Hesperotettix viridis (snakeweed grasshopper)
Keywords: phylogeography, orthology
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