Comprehensive gene and taxon coverage elucidates radiation patterns in moths and butterflies

Abstract

Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) represent one of the most diverse animals groups. Yet, the phylogeny of advanced ditrysian Lepidoptera, accounting for about 99 per cent of lepidopteran species, has remained largely unresolved. We report a rigorous and comprehensive analysis of lepidopteran affinities. We performed phylogenetic analyses of 350 taxa representing nearly 90 per cent of lepidopteran families. We found Ditrysia to be a monophyletic taxon with the clade Tischerioidea þ Palaephatoidea being the sister group of it. No support for the monophyly of the proposed major internested ditrysian clades, Apoditrysia, Obtectomera and Macrolepidoptera, was found as currently defined, but each of these is supported with some modification. The monophyly or near-monophyly of most previously identified lepidopteran superfamilies is reinforced, but several species-rich superfamilies were found to be para-or polyphyletic. Butterflies were found to be more closely related to 'microlepidopteran' groups of moths rather than the clade Macrolepidoptera, where they have traditionally been placed. There is support for the monophyly of Macrolepidoptera when butterflies and Calliduloidea are excluded. The data suggest that the generally short diverging nodes between major groupings in basal non-tineoid Ditrysia are owing to their rapid radiation, presumably in correlation with the radiation of flowering plants.

Genomic adaptation to polyphagy and insecticides in a major East Asian noctuid pest

“…Nature ecology & evolutioN about 104.7 Myr ago (Ma), and diverged approximately 147 Ma from the more basal Plutella xylostella, whereas Lepidoptera as a whole separated from Diptera about 258 Ma, consistent with reported divergence time estimates 10 ( Supplementary Fig. 1b).…”

Systematics and biology of the iconic Australian scribbly gum moths Ogmograptis Meyrick (Lepidoptera : Bucculatricidae) and their unique insect–plant interaction

“…Preliminary trees (not shown) supported the inclusion of Ogmograptis plus the vascular cambium-mining species within Gracillarioidea and as sister to Bucculatrix, results later confirmed by Mutanen et al (2010), who referred Tritymba to the Bucculatricidae. Bucculatrix was thus chosen as the outgroup for subsequent analyses.…”

“…In parallel to the present study, a recent phylogenetic analysis of lepidopteran relationships based on molecular evidence (Mutanen et al 2010) indicated that Ogmograptis and Tritymba are closely related and linked to Bucculatrix Zeller. This finding came as a surprise as Tritymba had been included in the Plutellidae because the antennae are held forward when the moth is at rest, unlike Ogmograptis, in which the antennae rest along the costa (Zborowski and Edwards 2007).…”

A heterozygous moth genome provides insights into herbivory and detoxification

“…2), and this idea is well supported by its modal karyotype of n = 31 (refs. 17,18) and the molecular phylogeny of Lepidoptera 19,20 , indicating the importance of P. xylostella in the history of lepidopteran evolution.…”

“…2), and this idea is well supported by its modal karyotype of n = 31 (refs. 17,18) and the molecular phylogeny of Lepidoptera 19,20 , indicating the importance of P. xylostella in the history of lepidopteran evolution.On the basis of P. xylostella transcriptome data 11 , we identified 354 preferentially expressed genes in larvae (Supplementary Fig. 15), and a set of these genes is involved in sulfate metabolism, some of which were validated using quantitative RT-PCR for gene expression analysis (Supplementary Figs.…”