Phylogeny of drepanosiphine aphids sensu lato (Hemiptera, Aphidoidea) inferred from molecular and morphological data.

Abstract

As the second largest and most diverse group in the superfamily Aphidoidea, the phylogeny of drepanosiphine aphids sensu lato (s.l.) is critical for discussing the evolution of aphids. However, the taxa composition and phylogenetic relationships of drepanosiphine aphids s.l. have not been fully elucidated to date. In this study, based on total-evidence analyses combining 4 molecular genes (3 mitochondrial, COI, tRNA-Leu/COII, and CytB; 1 nuclear, EF-1ɑ) and 64 morphological and biological characteristics, the phylogeny of this group was reconstructed for the first time at the subfamily level using different datasets, parsimonies and model-based methods. All of our phylogenetic inferences clearly indicated that the drepanosiphine aphids s.l. was not a monophyletic group and seemed to support the division of the drepanosiphine aphids s.l. into different groups classified at the subfamily level. Calaphidinae was also not a monophyletic group, and Saltusaphidinae was nested within this subfamily. Drepanosiphinae was not clustered with Chaitophorinae, which was inconsistent with the previous hypothesis of a close relationship between them, illustrating that their phylogeny remains controversial. Overall, some groups of drepanosiphine aphids s.l., including Phyllaphidinae, Macropodaphidinae, Pterastheniinae, Lizeriinae, Drepanosiphinae, Spicaphidinae, Saltusaphidinae, and Calaphidinae, clustered together and might constitute the actual drepanosiphine aphids s.l. To a certain extent, our results clarified the phylogenetic relationships among drepanosiphine aphids s.l. and confirmed their taxonomic status as subfamilies.