Abstract
The rapid increase in the number of mitochondrial genomes in public databases provides opportunities for insect phylogenetic studies; but it also provides challenges because of gene rearrangements and variable substitution rates among both lineages and sites. Typically, phylogenetic studies use mitochondrial sequence data but exclude other features of the mitochondrial genome from analyses. Here, we undertook large-scale sequencing of mitochondrial genomes from a worldwide collection of specimens belonging to Braconidae, one of the largest families of Metazoa. The strand-asymmetry of base composition in the mitochondrial genomes of braconids is reversed, providing evidence for monophyly of the Braconidae. We have reconstructed a backbone phylogeny of the major lineages of Braconidae from gene order of the mitochondrial genomes. Standard phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequences provided strong support for both Cyclostomes and Noncyclostomes. Four subfamily complexes, that is, helconoid, euphoroid, sigalphoid, and microgastroid, within the Noncyclostomes were reconstructed robustly, the first three of which formed a monophyletic group sister to the last one. Aphidiinae was recovered as a lineage sister to other groups of Cyclostomes, while the Ichneutinae was recovered as paraphyletic. Separate analyses of the subdivided groups showed congruent relationships, employing different matrices and methods, for the internal nodes of the Cyclostomes and the microgastroid complex of subfamilies. This research, using multiple lines of evidence from mitochondrial genomes, illustrates multiple uses of mitochondrial genomes for phylogenetic inference in Braconidae.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
9-1-2016
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evw184
Funding Information
This study was supported by the State Key Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant number 31230068), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant numbers 31401996, 31472025, 31101661), the NSFC Innovative Research Groups (Grant number 31021003), and the 973 Program (Grant number 2013CB127600).
Repository Citation
Li, Qian; Wei, Shu-Jun; Tang, Pu; Wu, Qiong; Shi, Min; Sharkey, Michael J.; and Chen, Xue-Xin, "Multiple Lines of Evidence from Mitochondrial Genomes Resolve Phylogenetic Relationships of Parasitic Wasps in Braconidae" (2016). Entomology Faculty Publications. 117.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/entomology_facpub/117
Supplementary Data
Notes/Citation Information
Published in Genome Biology and Evolution, v. 8, issue 9, p. 2651-2662.
© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.
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