Abstract
BackgroundYponomeutoidea, one of the early-diverging lineages of ditrysian Lepidoptera, comprise about 1,800 species worldwide, including notable pests and insect-plant interaction models. Yponomeutoids were one of the earliest lepidopteran clades to evolve external feeding and to extensively colonize herbaceous angiosperms. Despite the group’s economic importance, and its value for tracing early lepidopteran evolution, the biodiversity and phylogeny of Yponomeutoidea have been relatively little studied.Methodology/Principal FindingsEight nuclear genes (8 kb) were initially sequenced for 86 putative yponomeutoid species, spanning all previously recognized suprageneric groups, and 53 outgroups representing 22 families and 12 superfamilies. Eleven to 19 additional genes, yielding a total of 14.8 to 18.9 kb, were then sampled for a subset of taxa, including 28 yponomeutoids and 43 outgroups. Maximum likelihood analyses were conducted on data sets differing in numbers of genes, matrix completeness, inclusion/weighting of synonymous substitutions, and inclusion/exclusion of “rogue” taxa. Monophyly for Yponomeutoidea was supported very strongly when the 18 “rogue” taxa were excluded, and moderately otherwise. Results from different analyses are highly congruent and relationships within Yponomeutoidea are well supported overall. There is strong support overall for monophyly of families previously recognized on morphological grounds, including Yponomeutidae, Ypsolophidae, Plutellidae, Glyphipterigidae, Argyresthiidae, Attevidae, Praydidae, Heliodinidae, and Bedelliidae. We also assign family rank to Scythropiinae (Scythropiidae stat. rev.), which in our trees are strongly grouped with Bedelliidae, in contrast to all previous proposals. We present a working hypothesis of among-family relationships, and an informal higher classification. Host plant family associations of yponomeutoid subfamilies and families are non-random, but show no trends suggesting parallel phylogenesis. Our analyses suggest that previous characterizations of yponomeutoids as predominantly Holarctic were based on insufficient sampling.Conclusions/SignificanceWe provide the first robust molecular phylogeny for Yponomeutoidea, together with a revised classification and new insights into their life history evolution and biogeography.
Highlights
The Yponomeutoidea constitute one of the early radiations in the so-called ditrysian Lepidoptera, the advanced clade that contains the great majority of lepidopteran species
Our putative outgroups, totaling 53 species belonging to 22 families in 12 superfamilies of ditrysian Lepidoptera, included all superfamilies that were historically associated with Yponomeutoidea or at least contain genera that were once placed within Yponomeutoidea
The best-score maximum likelihood (ML) tree found in 150 GARLI searches for the 8–27 gene, 139-taxon nt123 analysis is shown in Figures 2 and 3
Summary
The Yponomeutoidea constitute one of the early radiations in the so-called ditrysian Lepidoptera, the advanced clade that contains the great majority of lepidopteran species. Yponomeutoidea are especially important for tracing the early evolution of Lepidoptera-plant interactions because they are one of the earliest groups to evolve external feeding [3] and to extensively colonize herbs as well as shrubs and trees [4]. The diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella: Plutellidae) is regarded as the most destructive insect pest of cruciferous vegetables, annually causing about a billion US dollars in economic loss [6]. Another notorious pest, the leek moth (Acrolepiopsis assectella: Glyphipterigidae), has caused damage to upwards of 70% of leeks and 40–50% of onions in some regions of Europe [7]. Yponomeutoidea, one of the early-diverging lineages of ditrysian Lepidoptera, comprise about 1,800 species worldwide, including notable pests and insect-plant interaction models. Despite the group’s economic importance, and its value for tracing early lepidopteran evolution, the biodiversity and phylogeny of Yponomeutoidea have been relatively little studied
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