Data for: Dispersal-limited symbionts exhibit unexpectedly wide variation in host specificity

A fundamental aspect of symbiotic relationships is host specificity, ranging from extreme specialists associated with only a single host species to generalists associated with many different species. Although symbionts with limited dispersal capabilities are expected to be host specialists, some are able to associate with multiple hosts. Understanding the micro- and macroevolutionary causes of variations in host specificity is often hindered by sampling biases and the limited power of traditional evolutionary markers. Here, we studied feather mites to address the barriers associated with estimates of host specificity for dispersal-limited symbionts. We sampled feather mites (Proctophyllodidae) from a nearly comprehensive set of North American breeding warblers (Parulidae) to study mite phylogenetic relationships and host-symbiont codiversification. We used pooled-sequencing (Pool-Seq) and short-read Illumina technology to interpret results derived from a traditional barcoding gene (cyto..., ,

共生关系的核心特征之一为宿主特异性（host specificity），其跨度覆盖极广：从仅与单一宿主物种相关联的极端特化共生体，到可关联多种不同宿主的泛化共生体。尽管学界通常认为扩散能力受限的共生体应属于宿主特化类群，但部分此类共生体却可与多种宿主建立关联。解析宿主特异性变异的微观与宏观进化成因，常因抽样偏差以及传统进化标记的分辨力有限而受阻。本研究以羽螨为研究对象，旨在解决扩散受限共生体的宿主特异性评估所面临的诸多障碍。我们从几乎涵盖所有北美繁殖森莺（Parulidae）类群的样本中采集羽螨（羽螨科，Proctophyllodidae），以解析羽螨的系统发育关系以及宿主-共生体协同进化历程。我们采用混池测序（Pool-Seq）与Illumina短读长测序技术，对传统条形码基因（细胞色素……）的分析结果进行阐释。