The Phylogenetic Relationship of Lamiinae (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) Using Mitochondrial Genomes

Abstract

Lamiinae is the largest subfamily of the Cerambycidae (longhorn beetles), with approximately 21,863 described species. Previous phylogenetic studies of Lamiinae showed that this subfamily was monophyletic, but the relationship between the tribes of Lamiinae is still controversial. Partial molecular data and species morphological characteristics are not sufficient to resolve species phylogenetic studies perfectly. At the same time, the full mitochondrial genome contains more comprehensive genetic data. Benefiting from the development of next-generation sequencing (NGS), mitochondrial genomes can be easily acquired and used as reliable molecular markers to investigate phylogenetic relationships within Cerambycidae. Using NGS technology, we obtained 11 mitochondrial genome sequences of Lamiinae species. Based on this newly generated mitochondrial genome dataset matrix, we reconstructed the phylogeny of Lamiinae. The Bayesian Inference and Maximum Likelihood analyses strongly support the monophyly of four tribes (Lamiini, Batocerini, Mesosini, and Saperdini), whereas the tribe Acanthocinini was identified as paraphyletic. Other mitochondrial structural features were also observed: the start codon in the nad1 gene of all 11 mitochondrial genomes is TTG; 17–22 bp intergenic spacers (IGS) with a ‘TACTA’ motif were found between trnS2 and nad1. Moreover, two long IGS were found in Mesosa myops and Batocera sp. Tandem repeats were found in the IGS of Batocera sp.

Comparative Mitogenome of Phylogenetic Relationships and Divergence Time Analysis within Potamanthidae (Insecta: Ephemeroptera)

“…Insect mt genomes can range in size from 14 to 20 kb and are usually double-stranded circular molecules that encode 37 canonical genes, including 13 protein-coding proteins (PCGs), which are vital for the electron transfer chain, 2 ribosomal RNAs (rRNA), 22 transfer RNAs (tRNAs) for transferring PCGs, and 1 control region (CR), which is also called the A-T-rich region [44][45][46]. Because of its rapid evolutionary rate, matrilineal inheritance, and small molecular size, the mt genome is quite useful in reconstructing the phylogenetic relationships among Insecta [47][48][49][50][51][52][53]. Up until 15 January 2024, there were no complete mt genomes of Potamanthidae (except two unchecked and one partial mt genome) available on the NCBI website (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, accessed on 15 January 2024).…”