ABSTRACT
The systematic status of the genus Athalia and related genera is a perennial controversy in sawfly taxonomy. Several authors have hypothesized that the placement of Athalia within the Tenthredinidae is artificial, but no studies have focused on this topic. If the hypothesis that Athalia does not belong to Tenthredinidae can be supported, the taxonomic framework of Tenthredinoidea needs revision. We present a comprehensive phylogenomic study of Tenthredinoidae, focusing on the positions of Athalia and related genera by sampling 80 representatives mainly of the Tenthredinoidea, including Heptamelinae and Blasticotomidae. Our phylogenetic reconstructions based on nuclear genes and mitochondrial (mt) sequences support Athalia and related genera as a distinct clade sister to Tenthredinidae + (Cimbicidae + Diprionidae). A comparison of symphytan mitochondrial genomes reveals an innovative gene rearrangement pattern in Athaliidae, in which Dentathalia demonstrates a more ancestral pattern than Athalia and Hypsathalia. The lineage specificity of mt rRNA secondary structures also provides sufficient support to consider Athaliidae as a separate family. In summary, the phylogeny and genomic structural changes unanimously support the taxonomic treatment of Athaliidae as a family and the re-establishment of Dentathalia as a valid genus.
ABSTRACT
The complete mitochondrial genome of Sinopoppia nigroflagella Wei, 1997 was sequenced and assembled. The circular genome is 15,940 bp long, with an A + T content of 80.33%, 37 genes, and a 658-bp control region. Specifically, trnL1 was translocated into the MQI gene cluster, and the other tRNA cluster was arranged as ARENS1F. The two gene clusters were thus arranged as ML1QI and ARENS1F. The phylogenetic results indicated that S. nigroflagella forms a sister group with Blennocampinae and Fenusinae.
