Life Sciences Commons^™

Host Phylogeny And Diet Shape Gut Microbial Communities Within Bamboo-Feeding Insects, Kuanguan Huang, Jie Wang, Junhao Huang, Shouke Zhang, Alfried P. Vogler, Quanquan Liu, Yongchun Li, Maowei Yang, You Li, Xuguo Zhou

Entomology Faculty Publications

The gut microbiome plays an important role in a host’s development and adaption to its dietary niche. In this study, a group of bamboo-feeding insects are used to explore the potential role of the gut microbiota in the convergent adaptation to extreme diet specialization. Specifically, using a 16S rRNA marker and an Illumina sequencing platform, we profiled the microbial communities of 76 gut samples collected from nine bamboo-feeding insects, including both hemimetabolous (Orthoptera and Hemiptera) and holometabolous (Coleoptera and Lepidoptera) species, which are specialized in three distinct dietary niches: bamboo leaf, shoot, and sap. The gut microbiota of these insects …

The First Mitochondrial Genome Of The Living-Fossil Sawfly Macroxyela Ferruginea (Hymenoptera: Xyelidae, Macroxyelinae), Bo-Ying Zheng, Ze-Kai Li, Xiao-Fei Li, Jia-Chen Zhu, Michael J. Sharkey, Pu Tang, Xue-Xin Chen

Entomology Faculty Publications

The living-fossil sawfly Macroxyela ferruginea (Xyelidae: Macroxyelinae) was one of the oldest species of Hymenoptera. We sequenced the mitochondrial genome, 15,465 bp in size. All 37 typical mitochondrial genes were possessed. There is only one rearrangement of gene order, where trnM and trnQ were shuffled. We also found this order was shared with Xyela sp., which also belongs to family Xyelidae. The 13 protein-coding genes of this sequence and the other 10 species from eight superfamilies in Hymenoptera were all used for phylogenetic analysis by maximum likelihood (ML) analysis and Bayesian inference (BI), with Ascaloptynx appendiculatus from Neuroptera as an …

Mitochondrial Phylogenomics Of Hemiptera Reveals Adaptive Innovations Driving The Diversification Of True Bugs, Hu Li, John Moeller Leavengood Jr., Eric G. Chapman, Daniel Burkhardt, Fan Song, Pei Jiang, Jinpeng Liu, Xuguo Zhou, Wanzhi Cai

Entomology Faculty Publications

Hemiptera, the largest non-holometabolous order of insects, represents approximately 7% of metazoan diversity. With extraordinary life histories and highly specialized morphological adaptations, hemipterans have exploited diverse habitats and food sources through approximately 300 Myr of evolution. To elucidate the phylogeny and evolutionary history of Hemiptera, we carried out the most comprehensive mitogenomics analysis on the richest taxon sampling to date covering all the suborders and infraorders, including 34 newly sequenced and 94 published mitogenomes. With optimized branch length and sequence heterogeneity, Bayesian analyses using a site-heterogeneous mixture model resolved the higher-level hemipteran phylogeny as (Sternorrhyncha, (Auchenorrhyncha, (Coleorrhyncha, Heteroptera))). Ancestral character …

Variation In Dna Methylation Is Not Consistently Reflected By Sociality In Hymenoptera, Karl M. Glastad, Samuel V. Arsenault, Kim L. Vertacnik, Scott M. Geib, Sasha Kay, Bryan N. Danforth, Sandra M. Rehan, Catherine R. Linnen, Sarah D. Kocher, Brendan G. Hunt

Biology Faculty Publications

Changes in gene regulation that underlie phenotypic evolution can be encoded directly in the DNA sequence or mediated by chromatin modifications such as DNA methylation. It has been hypothesized that the evolution of eusocial division of labor is associated with enhanced gene regulatory potential, which may include expansions in DNA methylation in the genomes of Hymenoptera (bees, ants, wasps, and sawflies). Recently, this hypothesis garnered support from analyses of a commonly used metric to estimate DNA methylation in silico, CpG content. Here, we test this hypothesis using direct, nucleotide-level measures of DNA methylation across nine species of Hymenoptera. In doing …

Multiple Lines Of Evidence From Mitochondrial Genomes Resolve Phylogenetic Relationships Of Parasitic Wasps In Braconidae, Qian Li, Shu-Jun Wei, Pu Tang, Qiong Wu, Min Shi, Michael J. Sharkey, Xue-Xin Chen

Entomology Faculty Publications

The rapid increase in the number of mitochondrial genomes in public databases provides opportunities for insect phylogenetic 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, we undertook large-scale sequencing of mitochondrial genomes from a worldwide collection of specimens belonging to Braconidae, one of the largest families of Metazoa. The strand-asymmetry of base composition in the mitochondrial genomes of braconids is reversed, providing evidence for monophyly of the Braconidae. We have reconstructed …

Duplication And Remolding Of Trna Genes In The Mitochondrial Genome Of Reduvius Tenebrosus (Hemiptera: Reduviidae), Pei Jiang, Hu Li, Fan Song, Yao Cai, Jianyun Wang, Jinpeng Liu, Wanzhi Cai

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Most assassin bugs are predators that act as important natural enemies of insect pests. Mitochondrial (mt) genomes of these insects are double-strand circular DNAs that encode 37 genes. In the present study, we explore the duplication and rearrangement of tRNA genes in the mt genome of Reduvius tenebrosus, the first mt genome from the subfamily Reduviinae. The gene order rearranges from CR (control region)-trnI-trnQ-trnM-ND2 to CR-trnQ-trnI2-trnI1-trnM-ND2. We identified 23 tRNA genes, including 22 tRNAs commonly found in insects and an additional trnI (trnI2), which has high sequence similarity to trnM. We found several …

Capturing The Phylogeny Of Holometabola With Mitochondrial Genome Data And Bayesian Site-Heterogeneous Mixture Models, Fan Song, Hu Li, Pei Jiang, Xuguo Zhou, Jinpeng Liu, Changhai Sun, Alfried P. Vogler, Wanzhi Cai

Entomology Faculty Publications

After decades of debate, a mostly satisfactory resolution of relationships among the 11 recognized holometabolan orders of insects has been reached based on nuclear genes, resolving one of the most substantial branches of the tree-of-life, but the relationships are still not well established with mitochondrial genome data. The main reasons have been the absence of sufficient data in several orders and lack of appropriate phylogenetic methods that avoid the systematic errors from compositional and mutational biases in insect mitochondrial genomes. In this study, we assembled the richest taxon sampling of Holometabola to date (199 species in 11 orders), and analyzed …

A Specialist Herbivore Pest Adaptation To Xenobiotics Through Up-Regulation Of Multiple Cytochrome P450s, Fang Zhu, Timothy W. Moural, David R. Nelson, Subba R. Palli

Entomology Faculty Publications

The adaptation of herbivorous insects to their host plants is hypothesized to be intimately associated with their ubiquitous development of resistance to synthetic pesticides. However, not much is known about the mechanisms underlying the relationship between detoxification of plant toxins and synthetic pesticides. To address this knowledge gap, we used specialist pest Colorado potato beetle (CPB) and its host plant, potato, as a model system. Next-generation sequencing (454 pyrosequencing) was performed to reveal the CPB transcriptome. Differential expression patterns of cytochrome P450 complement (CYPome) were analyzed between the susceptible (S) and imidacloprid resistant (R) beetles. We also evaluated the global …

Integrated Analysis Of Cytochrome P450 Gene Superfamily In The Red Flour Beetle, Tribolium Castaneum, Fang Zhu, Timothy W. Moural, Kapil Shah, Subba Reddy Palli

Entomology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: The functional and evolutionary diversification of insect cytochrome P450s (CYPs) shaped the success of insects. CYPs constitute one of the largest and oldest gene superfamilies that are found in virtually all aerobic organisms. Because of the availability of whole genome sequence and well functioning RNA interference (RNAi), the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum serves as an ideal insect model for conducting functional genomics studies. Although several T. castaneum CYPs had been functionally investigated in our previous studies, the roles of the majority of CYPs remain largely unknown. Here, we comprehensively analyzed the phylogenetic relationship of all T. castaneum CYPs …

Wolbachia Association With The Tsetse Fly, Glossina Fuscipes Fuscipes, Reveals High Levels Of Genetic Diversity And Complex Evolutionary Dynamics, Rebecca E. Symula, Uzma Alam, Corey L. Brelsfoard, Yineng Wu, Richard Echodu, Loyce M. Okedi, Serap Aksoy, Adalgisa Caccone

Entomology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Wolbachia pipientis, a diverse group of α-proteobacteria, can alter arthropod host reproduction and confer a reproductive advantage to Wolbachia-infected females (cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI)). This advantage can alter host population genetics because Wolbachia-infected females produce more offspring with their own mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotypes than uninfected females. Thus, these host haplotypes become common or fixed (selective sweep). Although simulations suggest that for a CI-mediated sweep to occur, there must be a transient phase with repeated initial infections of multiple individual hosts by different Wolbachia strains, this has not been observed empirically. Wolbachia has been found in the tsetse fly, Glossina …

Cloning, Ligand-Binding, And Temporal Expression Of Ecdysteroid Receptors In The Diamondback Moth, Plutella Xylostella, Baozhen Tang, Wei Dong, Pei Liang, Xuguo Zhou, Xiwu Gao

Entomology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: The diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae), is a devastating pest of cruciferous crops worldwide, and has developed resistance to a wide range of insecticides, including diacylhydrazine-based ecdysone agonists, a highly selective group of molt-accelerating biopesticides targeting the ecdysone receptors.

RESULT: In this study, we cloned and characterized the ecdysone receptors from P. xylostella, including the two isoforms of EcR and a USP. Sequence comparison and phylogenetic analysis showed striking conservations among insect ecdysone receptors, especially between P. xylostella and other lepidopterans. The binding affinity of ecdysteroids to in vitro-translated receptor proteins indicated that PxEcRB isoform bound specifically …

Comparative Mitogenomic Analysis Of Damsel Bugs Representing Three Tribes In The Family Nabidae (Insecta: Hemiptera), Hu Li, Haiyu Liu, Fan Song, Aimin Shi, Xuguo Zhou, Wanzhi Cai

Entomology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Nabidae, a family of predatory heteropterans, includes two subfamilies and five tribes. We previously reported the complete mitogenome of Alloeorhynchus bakeri, a representative of the tribe Prostemmatini in the subfamily Prostemmatinae. To gain a better understanding of architecture and evolution of mitogenome in Nabidae, mitogenomes of five species representing two tribes (Gorpini and Nabini) in the subfamily Nabinae were sequenced, and a comparative mitogenomic analysis of three nabid tribes in two subfamilies was carried out.

METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Nabid mitogenomes share a similar nucleotide composition and base bias, except for the control region, where differences are observed at the …

Widespread And Persistent Invasions Of Terrestrial Habitats Coincident With Larval Feeding Behavior Transitions During Snail-Killing Fly Evolution (Diptera: Sciomyzidae), Eric G. Chapman, Andrey A. Przhiboro, James D. Harwood, Benjamin A. Foote, Walter R. Hoeh

Entomology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Transitions in habitats and feeding behaviors were fundamental to the diversification of life on Earth. There is ongoing debate regarding the typical directionality of transitions between aquatic and terrestrial habitats and the mechanisms responsible for the preponderance of terrestrial to aquatic transitions. Snail-killing flies (Diptera: Sciomyzidae) represent an excellent model system to study such transitions because their larvae display a range of feeding behaviors, being predators, parasitoids or saprophages of a variety of mollusks in freshwater, shoreline and dry terrestrial habitats. The remarkable genus Tetanocera (Tetanocerini) occupies five larval feeding groups and all of the habitat types mentioned above. …

Pyrosequencing The Bemisia Tabaci Transcriptome Reveals A Highly Diverse Bacterial Community And A Robust System For Insecticide Resistance, Wen Xie, Qing-Shu Meng, Qing-Jun Wu, Shao-Li Wang, Xin Yang, Ni-Na Yang, Ru-Mei Li, Xiao-Guo Jiao, Hui-Peng Pan, Bai-Ming Liu, Qi Su, Bao-Yun Xu, Song-Nian Hu, Xuguo Zhou, You-Jun Zhang

Entomology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) is a phloem-feeding insect poised to become one of the major insect pests in open field and greenhouse production systems throughout the world. The high level of resistance to insecticides is a main factor that hinders continued use of insecticides for suppression of B. tabaci. Despite its prevalence, little is known about B. tabaci at the genome level. To fill this gap, an invasive B. tabaci B biotype was subjected to pyrosequencing-based transcriptome analysis to identify genes and gene networks putatively involved in various physiological and toxicological processes.

METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using Roche 454 pyrosequencing, …

The Complete Mitochondrial Genome And Novel Gene Arrangement Of The Unique-Headed Bug Stenopirates Sp. (Hemiptera: Enicocephalidae), Hu Li, Hui Liu, Aimin Shi, Pavel Stys, Xuguo Zhou, Wanzhi Cai

Entomology Faculty Publications

Many of true bugs are important insect pests to cultivated crops and some are important vectors of human diseases, but few cladistic analyses have addressed relationships among the seven infraorders of Heteroptera. The Enicocephalomorpha and Nepomorpha are consider the basal groups of Heteroptera, but the basal-most lineage remains unresolved. Here we report the mitochondrial genome of the unique-headed bug Stenopirates sp., the first mitochondrial genome sequenced from Enicocephalomorpha. The Stenopirates sp. mitochondrial genome is a typical circular DNA molecule of 15, 384 bp in length, and contains 37 genes and a large non-coding fragment. The gene order differs substantially from …

Comparative Mitogenomics Of Braconidae (Insecta: Hymenoptera) And The Phylogenetic Utility Of Mitochondrial Genomes With Special Reference To Holometabolous Insects, Shu-Jun Wei, Min Shi, Michael J. Sharkey, Cornelis Van Achterberg, Xue-Xin Chen

Entomology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Animal mitochondrial genomes are potential models for molecular evolution and markers for phylogenetic and population studies. Previous research has shown interesting features in hymenopteran mitochondrial genomes. Here, we conducted a comparative study of mitochondrial genomes of the family Braconidae, one of the largest families of Hymenoptera, and assessed the utility of mitochondrial genomic data for phylogenetic inference at three different hierarchical levels, i.e., Braconidae, Hymenoptera, and Holometabola.

RESULTS: Seven mitochondrial genomes from seven subfamilies of Braconidae were sequenced. Three of the four sequenced A+T-rich regions are shown to be inverted. Furthermore, all species showed reversal of strand asymmetry, suggesting …

Mitochondrial Phylogenomics Of The Bivalvia (Mollusca): Searching For The Origin And Mitogenomic Correlates Of Doubly Uniparental Inheritance Of Mtdna, Hélène Doucet-Beaupré, Sophie Breton, Eric G. Chapman, Pierre U. Blier, Arthur E. Bogan, Donald T. Stewart, Walter R. Hoeh

Entomology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Doubly uniparental inheritance (DUI) is an atypical system of animal mtDNA inheritance found only in some bivalves. Under DUI, maternally (F genome) and paternally (M genome) transmitted mtDNAs yield two distinct gender-associated mtDNA lineages. The oldest distinct M and F genomes are found in freshwater mussels (order Unionoida). Comparative analyses of unionoid mitochondrial genomes and a robust phylogenetic framework are necessary to elucidate the origin, function and molecular evolutionary consequences of DUI. Herein, F and M genomes from three unionoid species, Venustaconcha ellipsiformis, Pyganodon grandis and Quadrula quadrula have been sequenced. Comparative genomic analyses were carried out on these …