Reassessment of the Phylogenetics of Two Pygmy Grasshopper Generic Groups Tetrix and Systolederus through Mitochondrial Phylogenomics Using Four New Mitochondrial Genome Assemblies

• Published in: Insects (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 15; no. 3; p. 174
• Main Authors: Guan, De-Long, Huang, Chao-Mei, Deng, Wei-An
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 04-03-2024; MDPI
• Subjects: Assessments; Bats; Biodiversity; Biological evolution; Calibration; Classification; Comparative analysis; Convergence; Coupling (molecular); Datasets; Deoxyribonucleic acid; Divergence; divergence dating; DNA; Evolution; Evolution & development; Genes; Genetic markers; Genomes; Grasshoppers; Insects; Mitochondrial DNA; mitochondrial genome; Morphology; Nucleotide sequence; Phylogenetics; Phylogeny; pygmy grasshoppers; Software; Systematics; Systolederus; taxonomic revision; Taxonomy; Tetrigidae; Transfer RNA; tRNA Ile; United States > US; China; taxonomic revision; mitochondrial genome; phylogeny; divergence dating; Tetrigidae; pygmy grasshoppers
• DOI: 10.3390/insects15030174
• EISSN: 2075-4450

Mitochondrial genomes offer pragmatic genetic markers to reconstruct evolutionary relationships and inform taxonomic classifications. Here, we present complete mitochondrial sequences for four Chinese pygmy grasshoppers (Tetrigidae), aiming to reevaluate phylogenetic patterns and morphological taxonomy. Our 17,643 bp, 16,274 bp, 15,086 bp, and 15,398 bp mitogenomes of
,
,
and
, respectively, exhibit archetypal Tetrigidae architecture. We constructed phylogenies using 13 protein-coding loci from 39 Tetrigidae mitogenomes, revealing several genus-level clusters with statistically solid support, conflicts regarding
,
merging into
, and two subclades of
. The dated divergence analysis indicates over 150 Mya of Tetrigidae ancestry, tracing the
generic group splits up to ~75 million years ago. Moreover, the
generic group radiated over 14 Mya across vast distributions, consistent with rapid adaptive dispersals. Our mitochondrial reconstructions suggest that
is taxonomically overextended for a single genus, while the distinctiveness of
and
from
appears questionable, and the
generic group comprises a potential tRNA-Ile coding region. Our integrative mitogenomic approaches will help resolve issues stemming from morphological taxonomy that is reliant on traits that are prone to convergence. This investigation enhances comprehension of Tetrigidae phylogeny and accentuates molecular systematics.