Population Genetics of Overwintering Monarch Butterflies, Danaus plexippus (Linnaeus), from Central Mexico Inferred from Mitochondrial DNA and Microsatellite Markers
Pfeiler E, Nazario-Yepiz NO, Pérez-Gálvez F and others. The Journal of heredity, March 2017.
Read the paper Free to read · doi:10.1093/jhered/esw071
What this paper is about
133 monarchs were sequenced at two mitochondrial genes and seven microsatellites, drawn from four overwintering sites in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve and from a non-migratory population at Irapuato.
Genetic diversity was low, and the comparison tests whether the resident population is distinct from the migrants that winter nearby.
Summarised here from the abstract below. Not the authors’ words.
Abstract
Population genetic variation and demographic history in Danaus plexippus (L.), from Mexico were assessed based on analyses of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI; 658 bp) and subunit II (COII; 503 bp) gene segments and 7 microsatellite loci. The sample of 133 individuals included both migratory monarchs, mainly from 4 overwintering sites within the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (MBBR) in central Mexico (states of Michoacán and México), and a nonmigratory population from Irapuato, Guanajuato. Haplotype (h) and nucleotide (π) diversities were relatively low, averaging 0.466 and 0.00073, respectively, for COI, and 0.629 and 0.00245 for COII. Analysis of molecular variance of the COI data set, which included additional GenBank sequences from a nonmigratory Costa Rican population, showed significant population structure between Mexican migratory monarchs and nonmigratory monarchs from both Mexico and Costa Rica, suggesting limited gene flow between the 2 behaviorally distinct groups. Interestingly, while the COI haplotype frequencies of the nonmigratory populations differed from the migratory, they were similar to each other, despite the great physical distance between them. Microsatellite analyses, however, suggested a lack of structure between the 2 groups, possibly owing to the number of significant deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium resulting from heterzoygote deficiencies found for most of the loci. Estimates of demographic history of the combined migratory MBBR monarch population, based on the mismatch distribution and Bayesian skyline analyses of the concatenated COI and COII data set (n = 89) suggested a population expansion dating to the late Pleistocene (~35000-40000 years before present) followed by a stable effective female population size (Nef) of about 6 million over the last 10000 years.
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Milkweed USA. (2026). Population Genetics of Overwintering Monarch Butterflies, Danaus plexippus (Linnaeus), from Central Mexico Inferred from Mitochondrial DNA and Microsatellite Markers (listing). Retrieved DATE, from https://milkweedusa.com/research/population-genetics-of-overwintering-monarch-butterflies-danaus-plexippus-linnaeus-2017/
"Population Genetics of Overwintering Monarch Butterflies, Danaus plexippus (Linnaeus), from Central Mexico Inferred from Mitochondrial DNA and Microsatellite Markers (listing)." Milkweed USA, 2026, https://milkweedusa.com/research/population-genetics-of-overwintering-monarch-butterflies-danaus-plexippus-linnaeus-2017/. Accessed DATE.
Milkweed USA. "Population Genetics of Overwintering Monarch Butterflies, Danaus plexippus (Linnaeus), from Central Mexico Inferred from Mitochondrial DNA and Microsatellite Markers (listing)." Last modified 2026-08-01. Accessed DATE. https://milkweedusa.com/research/population-genetics-of-overwintering-monarch-butterflies-danaus-plexippus-linnaeus-2017/.
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title = {Population Genetics of Overwintering Monarch Butterflies, Danaus plexippus (Linnaeus), from Central Mexico Inferred from Mitochondrial DNA and Microsatellite Markers (listing)},
author = {{Milkweed USA}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://milkweedusa.com/research/population-genetics-of-overwintering-monarch-butterflies-danaus-plexippus-linnaeus-2017/},
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