Genetic data of museum specimens allow for inferring evolutionary history of the cosmopolitan genus Sirthenea (Heteroptera: Reduviidae)

PeerJ

article

Dominik Chłond¹  Natalia Sawka-Gądek²  Dagmara Żyła³ 

[1] Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, Department of Zoology, University of Silesia;Institute of Systematic and Evolution of Animals, Polish Academy of Science;Department of Ecology, Evolution, & Organismal Biology, Iowa State University;Department of Invertebrate Zoology and Parasitology, University of Gdańsk

关键词: Taxonomy;    Morphology;    Evolution;    Molecular clock;    Biogeography;    Phylogeny;    Total evidence;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.6640

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

Among the 30 known genera within subfamily Peiratinae, only the genus Sirthenea has a cosmopolitan distribution. The results of our studies are the first comprehensive analysis concerning one of the representatives of mentioned subfamily based on joint phylogenetic analyses of molecular and morphological data as well as molecular dating. A total of 32 species were included into the dataset with all known species of the genus Sirthenea. Material of over 400 dry specimens was examined for the morphological part of this study. The cosmopolitan distribution of Sirthenea and the inaccessibility of specimens preserved in alcohol required the extraction of DNA from the dried skeletal muscles of specimens deposited in 24 entomological collections. The oldest specimens used for the successful extraction and sequencing were collected more than 120 years ago in India. We performed Bayesian Inference analyses of molecular and morphological data separately, as well as combined analysis. The molecular and morphological data obtained during our research verify the correlation of the divergence dates of all known Sirthenea species. Results of the relaxed molecular clock analysis of the molecular data show that, the genus Sirthenea started diverging in the Late Cretaceous into two clades, which subsequently began to branch off in the Paleocene. Our results of phylogenetic analyses suggest that the fossula spongiosa and its development could be one of the most important morphological characters in the evolution of the genus, most likely associated with the ecological niche inhabited by Sirthenea representatives. Confirmation of the results obtained in our studies is the reconciliation of the evolutionary history of Sirthenea with the biogeographical processes that have shaped current global distribution of the genus.

【 授权许可】

CC BY