Multiple lines of evidence Frommitochondrial genomes resolve phylogenetic relationships of parasitic wasps in braconidae

Abstract

The rapid increase inthenumberofmitochondrialgenomes inpublic databasesprovidesopportunities for insectphylogenetic studies; but it also provides challenges because of gene rearrangements and variable substitution rates among both lineages and sites. Typically, phylogenetic studies use mitochondrial sequence data but exclude other features of the mitochondrial genome from analyses.Here,weundertook large-scale sequencingofmitochondrialgenomes from aworldwide collectionof specimensbelonging to Braconidae, one of the largest families ofMetazoa. The strand-Asymmetry of base composition in the mitochondrial genomes of braconids is reversed, providing evidence for monophyly of the Braconidae. We have reconstructed a backbone phylogeny of the major lineages of Braconidae from gene order of the mitochondrial genomes. Standard phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequences provided strong support for both Cyclostomes and Noncyclostomes. Four subfamily complexes, that is, helconoid, euphoroid, sigalphoid, and microgastroid, within the Noncyclostomes were reconstructed robustly, the first three of which formed a monophyletic groupsister tothe lastone.Aphidiinaewasrecovered as alineage sister toother groups of Cyclostomes, while the Ichneutinae was recovered as paraphyletic. Separate analyses of the subdivided groups showed congruent relationships, employing different matrices andmethods, for the internal nodes of the Cyclostomes and themicrogastroid complex of subfamilies. This research, using multiple lines of evidence from mitochondrialgenomes, illustratesmultipleusesofmitochondrialgenomesforphylogenetic inference in Braconidae.