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Phylogenomic analysis of Stylops reveals the evolutionary history of a Holarctic Strepsiptera radiation parasitizing wild bees
Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Zoology. Swedish Museum of Natural History, Sweden.ORCID iD: 0000-0001-9868-3134
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Number of Authors: 52024 (English)In: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, ISSN 1055-7903, E-ISSN 1095-9513, Vol. 195, article id 108068Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Holarctic Stylops is the largest genus of the enigmatic insect order Strepsiptera, twisted winged parasites. Members of Stylops are obligate endoparasites of Andrena mining bees and exhibit extreme sexual dimorphism typical of Strepsiptera. So far, molecular studies on Stylops have focused on questions on species delimitation. Here, we utilize the power of whole genome sequencing to infer the phylogeny of this morphologically challenging genus from thousands of loci. We use a species tree method, concatenated maximum likelihood analysis and Bayesian analysis with a relaxed clock model to reconstruct the phylogeny of 46 Stylops species, estimate divergence times, evaluate topological consistency across methods and infer the root position. Furthermore, the biogeographical history and coevolutionary patterns with host species are assessed. All methods recovered a well resolved topology with close to all nodes maximally supported and only a handful of minor topological variations. Based on the result, we find that included species can be divided into 12 species groups, seven of them including only Palaearctic species, three Nearctic and two were geographically mixed. We find a strongly supported root position between a clade formed by the spretathwaitesi and gwynanae species groups and the remaining species and that the sister group of Stylops is Eurystylops or Eurystylops + Kinzelbachus. Our results indicate that Stylops originated in the Western Palaearctic or Western Palaearctic and Nearctic in the early Neogene or late Paleogene, with four independent dispersal events to the Nearctic. Cophylogenetic analyses indicate that the diversification of Stylops has been shaped by both significant coevolution with the mining bee hosts and host-shifting. The well resolved and strongly supported phylogeny will provide a valuable phylogenetic basis for further studies into the fascinating world of Strepsipterans.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2024. Vol. 195, article id 108068
Keywords [en]
Phylogenomics, Strepsiptera, Stylops, Coevolution, Parasitism, Whole-genome sequencing
National Category
Evolutionary Biology Genetics and Genomics
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:su:diva-232517DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2024.108068ISI: 001227813000001PubMedID: 38554985Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85190277934OAI: oai:DiVA.org:su-232517DiVA, id: diva2:1890621
Available from: 2024-08-20 Created: 2024-08-20 Last updated: 2025-02-01Bibliographically approved
In thesis
1. Diversity, speciation and evolutionary history of the twisted-winged parasite genus Stylops (Strepsiptera): A genomic approach
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Diversity, speciation and evolutionary history of the twisted-winged parasite genus Stylops (Strepsiptera): A genomic approach
2025 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

Despite their captivating peculiarity, the insect order Strepsiptera, commonly known as twisted-winged parasites, remains relatively poorly known. Advancements in molecular methods have provided researchers with new tools to address evolutionary questions about the order previously difficult to resolve due to the challenging morphology of Strepsipterans. Stylops, one of the largest genera of Strepsiptera, has had its fair share of these challenges. Stylops are obligate endoparasites of Andrena mining bees, and taxonomists working with the genus have used species concepts with varying degrees of host specificity. This has led to conflicting species hypotheses and unresolved phylogenetic relationships. Furthermore, key evolutionary processes, such as host coevolution and drivers of speciation, have largely remained unexplored. In this thesis, I use genomic-scale data to both clarify the taxonomy of Stylops and to investigate the evolutionary history and processes within the genus. In chapter I, we apply whole-genome sequencing to produce a comprehensive molecular data set focused on West Palaearctic Stylops species. Over 2000 genes were used in species delimitation analyses to evaluate existing and conflicting species hypotheses. We found justification for synonymization of multiple species, indications of undescribed species, and confirmed new host-parasite relationships, clarifying the West Palaearctic species diversity of Stylops. In chapter II, we infer a phylogeny of the genus based on thousands of loci, including newly sequenced Nearctic species. Additionally, we assess the biogeographic history and coevolutionary patterns with their host. The used inference methods produced fully resolved phylogenies with high support values and only minor topological differences between the methods. We found Stylops to originate in the West Palaearctic or West Palaearctic and Nearctic in the early Neogene or late Palaeogene and diversification of Stylops to be shaped by both coevolution and host-shifting. In chapter III we investigate what drives divergence in six species or species groups of Stylops using a genome-wide SNP dataset. We found that, depending on the species, both geographic distance and host association each play important roles for genetic differentiation, highlighting how contrasting processes may shape speciation even in closely related species. In chapter IV, we review the Nordic Strepsiptera fauna based on the current taxonomic knowledge and describe two new Stylops species that were identified as undescribed species in earlier chapters. Additionally, we gather an extensive species occurrence record set of Strepsiptera from the Nordic countries based on museum and private collections, and online databases. The overall aim of this thesis is to apply genomic data to answer questions of species diversity, host association, drivers of speciation and evolutionary history of the genus Stylops to increase our knowledge and understanding of these fascinating insects.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Stockholm: Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, 2025. p. 39
Keywords
Stylops, Strepsiptera, Species delimitation, Phylogenomics, Coevolution, Speciation
National Category
Evolutionary Biology
Research subject
Systematic Zoology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:su:diva-236989 (URN)978-91-8107-054-5 (ISBN)978-91-8107-055-2 (ISBN)
Public defence
2025-02-07, Lilla Hörsalen, Naturhistoriska riksmuseet, Frescativägen 40, Stockholm, 13:00 (English)
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Available from: 2025-01-15 Created: 2024-12-09 Last updated: 2024-12-20Bibliographically approved

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Lähteenaro, MeriBergsten, Johannes

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