Phylogeny and temporal diversification of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) with an emphasis on the Neotropical fauna

Abstract

Understanding phylogenetic relationships within the family Culicidae informs mosquito evolution and may have public health implications as this family includes numerous species of medical and veterinary importance. We investigated the mitochondrial genomes of 102 mosquitoes, including six newly sequenced species, representing 21 genera with an emphasis on the Neotropical region. We estimated divergence times based on sequence data and three fossil calibration points, using Bayesian relaxed clock methods. Bayesian and maximum‐likelihood phylogenetic analyses based on the DNA sequences of 13 PCGs of the 102 species provided robust support for the monophyly of the subfamily Anophelinae and the tribes Aedini, Culicini, Mansoniini and Sabethini. Despite the current genera of Anophelinae being consistently recovered as monophyletic, relationships among them proved to be quite variable depending on the method used (concatenated or partitioned) and the number of taxa sampled. Molecular divergence time estimates revealed that the two mosquito subfamilies, Anophelinae and Culicinae, diverged in the early Jurassic (approximately 197.5 Mya). However, most major lineages of these groups arose after the Cretaceous, coincident with the emergence of angiosperms and the expansion of mammals and birds. The diversification and worldwide distribution of Culicidae may also be determined in part by geographic isolation as a result of continental drift during the Cretaceous.

Decoding rRNA sequences for improved metagenomics of sylvatic mosquito species

“…First, the COI phylogeny does not recapitulate the early divergence of Anophelinae from Culicinae (Figure 5). This is at odds with other studies estimating mosquito divergence times based on mitochondrial genes (Logue et al, 2013; Lorenz et al, 2021) or nuclear genes (Reidenbach et al, 2009). The second notable feature in the rRNA trees is the remarkably large interspecies and intersubgeneric evolutionary distances within genus Anopheles relative to Culicinae genera (Figures 2–4, Supplementary Figure S4) but this is not apparent in the COI tree.…”

“…The second notable feature in the rRNA trees is the remarkably large interspecies and intersubgeneric evolutionary distances within genus Anopheles relative to Culicinae genera (Figures 2–4, Supplementary Figure S4) but this is not apparent in the COI tree. The hyperdiversity among Anopheles taxa may be attributed to the earlier diversification of the Anophelinae subfamily in the early Cretaceous period compared to that of the Culicinae subfamily, a difference of at least 40 million years (Lorenz et al, 2021). The differences in rRNA and COI tree topologies indicate a limitation in using COI alone to determine evolutionary relationships.…”

First Report on Mitochondrial Gene Rearrangement in Non-Biting Midges, Revealing a Synapomorphy in Stenochironomus Kieffer (Diptera: Chironomidae)

“…The gene arrangement of mitogenomes is conservative in most groups of Diptera [30,[54][55][56]. New gene orders have only been reported in a few taxa, for example: The trnI gene inverted and transposed from the position between the control region and the ND2 gene to the block of tRNA genes between ND3 and ND5 in two gall midges [28], and the midge Arachnocampa flava has an inversion of the trnE gene [30].…”

Immune gene expression in the mosquito vector Culex quinquefasciatus during an avian malaria infection

“…Cx quinquefasciatus is an epidemiologically important vector of an exceptionally diverse array of taxonomically different pathogens, including arboviruses (West Nile, St. Louis encephalitis and Rift Valley viruses), filarial worms ( Wuchereria bancrofti ) and protozoans (avian Plasmodium and avian Trypanosoma ). Although Culex mosquitoes diverged from their Anopheles and Aedes counterparts during the early Jurassic (∼ 160-200 million years ago) and early Cretaceous (∼ 130 million years ago) periods, respectively (da Silva et al 2020; Lorenz et al 2021) they still share pathogen groups for which they act as vectors for e.g. Plasmodium spp.…”