Background: Obligate parthenogenesis is relatively rare in animals. Still, in some groups it is quite common and has evolved and persisted multiple times. These groups may provide important clues to help solve the 'paradox of sex'. Several species in the Psychidae (Lepidoptera) have obligate parthenogenesis. Dahlica triquetrella is one of those species where multiple transitions to parthenogenesis are postulated based on intensive cytological and behavioural studies. This has led to the hypothesis that multiple transitions from sexuals to diploid parthenogens occurred during and after the last glacial period, followed by transitions from parthenogenetic diploids to parthenogenetic tetraploids. Our study is the first to test these hypotheses using a molecular phylogeny based on mtDNA from multiple sexual and parthenogenetic populations from a wide geographic range.
Results: Parthenogenetic (and sexual) D. triquetrella are not monophyletic, and considerable sequence variation is present suggesting multiple transitions to parthenogenesis. However, we could not establish ancestral sexual haplotypes from our dataset. Our data suggest that some parthenogenetic clades have evolved, indicating origins of parthenogenesis before the last glacial period.
Conclusions: Multiple transitions to parthenogenesis have taken place in Dahlica triquetrella, confirming previous hypotheses. The number of different parthenogenetic clades, haplotypes and their apparent evolutionary age, clearly show that parthenogenesis has been a very successful reproductive strategy in this species over a long period.