Latrocimicinae completes the phylogeny of Cimicidae: meeting old morphologic data rather than modern host phylogeny

Abstract

The family Cimicidae includes obligate hematophagous ectoparasites (bed bugs and their relatives) with high veterinary/medical importance. The evolutionary relationships of Cimicidae and their hosts have recently been reported in a phylogenetic context, but in the relevant study, one of the six subfamilies, the bat-specific Latrocimicinae, was not represented. In this study the only known species of Latrocimicinae, i.e., Latrocimex spectans, was analyzed with molecular and phylogenetic methods based on four (two nuclear and two mitochondrial) genetic markers. The completed subfamily-level phylogeny of Cimicidae showed that Latrocimicinae is most closely related to Haematosiphoninae (ectoparasites of birds and humans), with which it shares systematically important morphologic characters, but not hosts. Moreover, in the phylogenetic analyses, cimicid bugs that are known to infest phylogenetically distant bat hosts clustered together (e.g., Leptocimex and Stricticimex within Cacodminae), while cimicid subfamilies (Latrocimicinae, Primicimicinae) that are known to infest bat hosts from closely related superfamilies clustered distantly. In conclusion, adding Latrocimicinae significantly contributed to the resolution of the phylogeny of Cimicidae. The close phylogenetic relationship between Latrocimicinae and Haematosiphoninae is consistent with long-known morphologic data. At the same time, phylogenetic relationships of genera within subfamilies are inconsistent with the phylogeny of relevant hosts. Graphical abstract

Polyctenidae (Hemiptera: Cimicoidea) species in the Afrotropical region: Distribution, host specificity, and first insights to their molecular phylogeny

“…Based on these results, Polycteninae is a sister clade to Primicimicinae. Subfamily Cacodminae appears to be monophyletic, which has been shown before (Balvín et al, 2015 ; Hornok et al, 2021 ; Ossa et al, 2019 ; Roth et al, 2019 ). Subfamily Cimicinae also shows monophyly, with two separated clusters for the genus Cimex encompassing the genus Paracimex , which supports previous findings (Balvín et al, 2015 ; Roth et al, 2019 ).…”

“…Based on these results, Polycteninae is a sister clade to Primicimicinae. Subfamily Cacodminae appears to be monophyletic, which has been shown before (Balvín et al, 2015;Hornok et al, 2021;Ossa et al, 2019;Roth et al, 2019). Subfamily…”

“…However, the amplification and sequencing of the 28S rRNA gene of Hypoctenes faini were not successful with two different primer sets. PCR reactions of 18S and 28S amplifications were performed as reported (Hornok et al, 2021 ).…”

“…Additionally, the ecology, distribution, and phylogeny of some cimicids species parasitizing bats, particularly C. adjunctus, C. pipistrelli, C. lectularius, and closely related species, are relatively well studied (Balvín et al, 2014(Balvín et al, , 2013Bartonička, 2008Bartonička, , 2010Hornok et al, 2018Hornok et al, , 2021Hornok et al, , 2017Quetglas et al, 2012;Reinhardt et al, 2007Reinhardt et al, , 2008. By contrast, Polyctenidae is an extremely understudied ectoparasitic family.…”

“…Cimicids (especially the bed bugs, Cimex lectularius and C. hemipterus ) are a well‐studied parasitic group as they are a public health concern due to their vectorial potential of several diseases, including Trypanosoma cruzi toward humans (Delaunay et al, 2011 ; Salazar et al, 2015 ). Additionally, the ecology, distribution, and phylogeny of some cimicids species parasitizing bats, particularly C. adjunctus , C. pipistrelli , C. lectularius , and closely related species, are relatively well studied (Balvín et al, 2014 , 2013 ; Bartonička, 2008 , 2010 ; Hornok et al, 2018 , 2021 , 2017 ; Quetglas et al, 2012 ; Reinhardt et al, 2007 , 2008 ). By contrast, Polyctenidae is an extremely understudied ectoparasitic family.…”