Phylogenomic Analyses of the Tenthredinoidea Support the Familial Rank of Athaliidae (Insecta, Tenthredinoidea)
Gengyun Niu,
Mahir Budak,
Ertan Mahir Korkmaz,
Özgül Doğan,
André Nel,
Siying Wan,
Chenyang Cai,
Corentin Jouault,
Min Li,
Meicai Wei
Affiliations
Gengyun Niu
Laboratory of Insect Systematics and Evolutionary Biology, College of Life Sciences, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang 330022, China
Mahir Budak
Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Science, Sivas Cumhuriyet University, Sivas 58140, Turkey
Ertan Mahir Korkmaz
Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Science, Sivas Cumhuriyet University, Sivas 58140, Turkey
Özgül Doğan
Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Science, Sivas Cumhuriyet University, Sivas 58140, Turkey
André Nel
Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB) Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, Université des Antilles, CP50, 57 rue Cuvier, 75005 Paris, France
Siying Wan
Laboratory of Insect Systematics and Evolutionary Biology, College of Life Sciences, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang 330022, China
Chenyang Cai
State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Centre for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
Corentin Jouault
Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB) Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, Université des Antilles, CP50, 57 rue Cuvier, 75005 Paris, France
Min Li
Laboratory of Insect Systematics and Evolutionary Biology, College of Life Sciences, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang 330022, China
Meicai Wei
Laboratory of Insect Systematics and Evolutionary Biology, College of Life Sciences, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang 330022, China
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 80 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.
