Phylogenomic Analyses of the Tenthredinoidea Support the Familial Rank of Athaliidae (Insecta, Tenthredinoidea)

Abstract

The systematic status of the genus Athalia and related genera is a perennial controversy in sawfly taxonomy. Several authors have hypothesized that the placement of Athalia within the Tenthredinidae is artificial, but no studies have focused on this topic. If the hypothesis that Athalia does not belong to Tenthredinidae can be supported, the taxonomic framework of Tenthredinoidea needs revision. We present a comprehensive phylogenomic study of Tenthredinoidae, focusing on the positions of Athalia and related genera by sampling 97 representatives mainly of the Tenthredinoidea, including Heptamelinae and Blasticotomidae. Our phylogenetic reconstructions based on nuclear genes and mitochondrial (mt) sequences support Athalia and related genera as a distinct clade sister to Tenthredinidae + (Cimbicidae + Diprionidae). A comparison of symphytan mitochondrial genomes reveals an innovative gene rearrangement pattern in Athaliidae, in which Dentathalia demonstrates a more ancestral pattern than Athalia and Hypsathalia. The lineage specificity of mt rRNA secondary structures also provides sufficient support to consider Athaliidae as a separate family. In summary, the phylogeny and genomic structural changes unanimously support the taxonomic treatment of Athaliidae as a family and the re-establishment of Dentathalia as a valid genus.

The Complete Mitogenome of Redheaded Pine Sawfly, Neodiprion lecontei (Hymenoptera: Diprionidae): Duplication of trnR Gene and Rearrangement in the ARNS1EF Gene Cluster

“…3). The recovered trees confirmed the taxonomic position of N. lecontei within Diprionidae and supported a relationship of (Pergidae + Argidae) + (Athalidae + ((Diprionidae + Cimbicidae) + Tenthredinidae)) in the Tenthredinoidae and this is reliable with the most of the reported phylogenies [33,[39][40]. The monophyly of included genera and families were also highly supported (Fig.…”

Mitochondrial genome evolution in the Diprionidae: Major gene rearrangement in the basal Hymenoptera

“…In addition to the previously reported diprionid mt-genomes [10,13], a comparative study of mt-genomes was conducted on 33 diprionid species from eleven genera (Table 1). Overall, diprionid mt-genomes exhibit a high number of non-coding intergenic spacer (IGS) regions, and unlike most other sawflies, the majority of diprionid mt-genomes possess two major non-coding regions (NCR).…”

“…It is large enough to accommodate repetitive patterns and complexity, while the basal taxa beyond the massive radiation are small enough to allow for near-complete genus-level sampling in phylogenetic analyses. Recently, a greater than expected diversity of gene rearrangements has been reported in basal Hymenoptera, including inversion, transposition, inverse transposition, shuffling of tRNA clusters, and even inversions of protein-coding genes [13]. This prompts caution regarding the previous conclusion that gene rearrangements occur mainly in parasitic taxa [14].…”

Chromosomes of Symphyta (Hymenoptera): current state and perspectives of research

“…However, karyotypes of certain subordinate taxa of the Tenthredinidae can have somewhat different parameters. For instance, species of the genus Athalia Leach, 1817 s.l., which is sometimes considered as a member of a separate family Athaliidae [Niu et al, 2022], can have either n = 6 or n = 8, with a single exception of A. scutellariae Cameron, 1880 with n = 7 [Westendorff, 2006]. Analogously, n = 6-9 were found in the relatively large subfamily Nematinae [Naito, 1982;Westendorff, 2006].…”