Comparative analysis of mitochondrial genomes among the subfamily Sarcophaginae (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) and phylogenetic implications

Abstract

The subfamily Sarcophaginae is extremely diverse in morphology, habit and geographical distribution, and usually considered to be of significant ecological, medical, and forensic significance. In the present study, 18 mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) of sarcophagid flies were first obtained. The rearrangement and orientation of genes were identical with that of ancestral insects. The degrees of compositional heterogeneity in the datasets were extremely low. Furthermore, 13 protein-coding genes were evolving under purifying selection. The phylogenic relationship of the genus-group taxa Boettcheria + (Sarcophaga + (Peckia + (Ravinia + Oxysarcodexia))) was strongly supported. Four subgenera were recovered as monophyletic (Liopygia, Liosarcophaga, Pierretia, Heteronychia) in addition to Parasarcophaga as polyphyletic. The sister-relationships between S. dux and S. aegyptiaca, S. pingi and S. kawayuensis were recovered, respectively. Moreover, the molecular phylogenetic relationships among the subgenera Helicophagella, Kozlovea, Kramerea, Pandelleisca, Phallocheira, Pseudothyrsocnema, Sinonipponia and Seniorwhitea were rarely put forward prior to this study. This study provides insight into the population genetics, molecular biology, and phylogeny for the subfamily Sarcophaginae, especially for the subgeneric classification of Sarcophaga. However, compared with the enormous species diversity of flesh flies, the available mitogenomes are still limited for recovering the phylogeny of Sarcophaginae.