Molecular phylogeny of Neotropical bioluminescent beetles (Coleoptera: Elateroidea) in southern and central Brazil

Abstract

Bioluminescence in beetles is found mainly in the Elateroidea superfamily (Elateridae, Lampyridae and Phengodidae). The Neotropical region accounts for the richest diversity of bioluminescent species in the world with about 500 described species, most occurring in the Amazon, Atlantic rainforest and Cerrado (savanna) ecosystems in Brazil. The origin and evolution of bioluminescence, as well as the taxonomic status of several Neotropical taxa in these families remains unclear. In order to contribute to a better understanding of the phylogeny and evolution of bioluminescent Elateroidea we sequenced and analyzed sequences of mitochondrial NADH2 and the nuclear 28S genes and of the cloned luciferase sequences of Brazilian species belonging to the following genera: (Lampyridae) Macrolampis, Photuris, Amydetes, Bicellonycha, Aspisoma, Lucidota, Cratomorphus; (Elateridae) Conoderus, Pyrophorus, Hapsodrilus, Pyrearinus, Fulgeochlizus; and (Phengodidae) Pseudophengodes, Phrixothrix, Euryopa and Brasilocerus. Our study supports a closer phylogenetic relationship between Elateridae and Phengodidae as other molecular studies, in contrast with previous morphologic and molecular studies that clustered Lampyridae/Phengodidae. Molecular data also supported division of the Phengodinae subfamily into the tribes Phengodini and Mastinocerini. The position of the genus Amydetes supports the status of the Amydetinae as a subfamily. The genus Euryopa is included in the Mastinocerini tribe within the Phengodinae/Phengodidae.

Orthogonal Luciferase–Luciferin Pairs for Bioluminescence Imaging

“…We initially targeted residues 218, 249–251, and 314–316 for mutagenesis (Figure A). These selections were partially based on phylogenetic data gathered from across the insect luciferase family, , along with previous biochemical assays: Arg218 is known to interact with d -luciferin and influence the local structure of the binding pocket; F250 lies in close proximity (∼3 Å) to the benzothiazole ring of d -luciferin; T251 has been shown to potentiate substrate binding; residues 314–316 line a critical edge near the luciferin phenolate and C7′ position. Mutations at all of these target sites have been shown to perturb d -luciferin binding (and thus light emission), while preserving the overall structural integrity of the enzyme. ,, …”

Sinopyrophorinae, a new subfamily of Elateridae (Coleoptera, Elateroidea) with the first record of a luminous click beetle in Asia and evidence for multiple origins of bioluminescence in Elateridae

“…Additionally, it was reported also for the larvae of two species belonging to Staphylinidae (Costa et al 1986, Rosa 2010), which are not closely related to Elateroidea (e.g., Zhang et al 2018). Within the Elateroidea, bioluminescence independently evolved several times (Bocakova et al 2007, Sagegami-Oba et al 2007, Amaral et al 2014, Fallon et al 2018) but despite the recent progress in elucidating the phylogenetic relationships within this superfamily (Kundrata et al 2014), the relationships between the luminescent lineages remain unresolved.…”

Comparative RNA seq analysis of the New Zealand glowworm Arachnocampa luminosa reveals bioluminescence-related genes

“…Despite their common name, glowworms are actually a type of fly (order Diptera, family Keroplatidae) [ 3 ]. Confusingly, some firefly larvae and adults are also referred to as glowworms, but the well-studied bioluminescent beetles (including fireflies, click beetles and railroad worms) are members of a different order – Coeloptera (superfamily Elateroidea) [ 4 ]. Diptera and Coleoptera diverged about 330 million years ago, with no known bioluminescent species intervening [ 5 – 7 ], which indicates that bioluminescence evolved independently in these insects.…”