Diversification of true water bugs revealed by transcriptome‐based phylogenomics
Systematic Entomology, vol. 46, pp. 339–356
Abstract
Abstract True water bugs (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Nepomorpha) are among the most common insects of freshwater ecosystems, comprising approximately 2300 extant species spread over five recognized superfamilies, including Corixoidea, Nepoidea, Ochteroidea, Notonectoidea and Naucoroidea. They exhibit striking morphological and behavioural adaptations to various freshwater environments, including oar‐like swimming legs, breathing siphons or plastron respiration. The phylogeny of Nepomorpha remains contentious, particularly for the early‐diverging lineage, which has hindered the understanding of the evolution of morphology and respiratory behaviour within the clade. In the present study, we assembled a large‐scale phylogenomic dataset, including 2018 single‐copy, protein‐coding gene sequences from 85 representative species of heteropterans (44 nepomorphans) to investigate the phylogeny of Nepomorpha and the corresponding implications for character evolution. Our inferences suggest that Corixoidea is the sister group of the remaining Nepomorpha, then Nepoidea and Ochteroidea; these clades successively branched in the Triassic, following the end‐Permian extinction event about 251 million years ago. The five superfamilies radiated in the Jurassic, when geological reconfigurations and drastic climate changes occurred. An ancestral state reconstruction demonstrated that the ancestral respiration type in true water bugs is likely a simple air‐bubble type, which was widely utilized in true water bugs. Subsequently, different clades have evolved variously specialized adaptations to improve its efficiency. We propose that the crawling legs of Nepidae are secondary or symplesiomorphic characters, which cannot serve as the evidence for the sister group role of Nepoidea to the remaining nepomorphans.
Authors 9
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Affiliation as printed
State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences Sun Yat‐sen University Guangzhou Guangdong China
State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
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Affiliation as printed
Laboratório de Biodiversidade Entomológica, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz Fundação Oswaldo Cruz Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro Brazil
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Affiliation as printed
Institute of Entomology, College of Life Sciences Nankai University Tianjin China
Institute of Entomology, College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, Tianjin, China
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Pingping Chen Aachen Netherlands Centre of Biodiversity Naturalis Leiden Netherlands Netherlands Centre of Biodiversity Naturalis
Affiliation as printed
Netherlands Centre of Biodiversity Naturalis Leiden Netherlands
Netherlands Centre of Biodiversity Naturalis, Leiden, Netherlands
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Animal Ecology II University of Bayreuth Bayreuth Germany
Department of Animal Ecology II, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
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Affiliation as printed
Institute of Entomology, College of Life Sciences Nankai University Tianjin China
Institute of Entomology, College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, Tianjin, China
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Affiliation as printed
State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences Sun Yat‐sen University Guangzhou Guangdong China
State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
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Affiliation as printed
State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences Sun Yat‐sen University Guangzhou Guangdong China
State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
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Qiang Xie corresponding
Affiliation as printed
State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences Sun Yat‐sen University Guangzhou Guangdong China
State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
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