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Insecta: Phasmatodea) and Their Phylogeny
insects Article Three Complete Mitochondrial Genomes of Orestes guangxiensis, Peruphasma schultei, and Phryganistria guangxiensis (Insecta: Phasmatodea) and Their Phylogeny Ke-Ke Xu 1, Qing-Ping Chen 1, Sam Pedro Galilee Ayivi 1 , Jia-Yin Guan 1, Kenneth B. Storey 2, Dan-Na Yu 1,3 and Jia-Yong Zhang 1,3,* 1 College of Chemistry and Life Science, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China; [email protected] (K.-K.X.); [email protected] (Q.-P.C.); [email protected] (S.P.G.A.); [email protected] (J.-Y.G.); [email protected] (D.-N.Y.) 2 Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6, Canada; [email protected] 3 Key Lab of Wildlife Biotechnology, Conservation and Utilization of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China * Correspondence: [email protected] or [email protected] Simple Summary: Twenty-seven complete mitochondrial genomes of Phasmatodea have been published in the NCBI. To shed light on the intra-ordinal and inter-ordinal relationships among Phas- matodea, more mitochondrial genomes of stick insects are used to explore mitogenome structures and clarify the disputes regarding the phylogenetic relationships among Phasmatodea. We sequence and annotate the first acquired complete mitochondrial genome from the family Pseudophasmati- dae (Peruphasma schultei), the first reported mitochondrial genome from the genus Phryganistria Citation: Xu, K.-K.; Chen, Q.-P.; Ayivi, of Phasmatidae (P. guangxiensis), and the complete mitochondrial genome of Orestes guangxiensis S.P.G.; Guan, J.-Y.; Storey, K.B.; Yu, belonging to the family Heteropterygidae. We analyze the gene composition and the structure D.-N.; Zhang, J.-Y. -
De Novo Characterization of the Timema Cristinae Transcriptome Facilitates Marker Discovery and Inference of Genetic Divergence
Molecular Ecology Resources (2012) doi: 10.1111/j.1755-0998.2012.03121.x De novo characterization of the Timema cristinae transcriptome facilitates marker discovery and inference of genetic divergence AARON A. COMEAULT,* MATHEW SOMMERS,* TANJA SCHWANDER,† C. ALEX BUERKLE,‡ TIMOTHY E. FARKAS,* PATRIK NOSIL* and THOMAS L. PARCHMAN‡ *Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80303, USA, †Center for Ecology and Evolutionary Studies, University of Groningen, 9700CC Groningen, The Netherlands, ‡Department of Botany, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, USA Abstract Adaptation to different ecological environments can promote speciation. Although numerous examples of such ‘ecological speciation’ now exist, the genomic basis of the process, and the role of gene flow in it, remains less understood. This is, at least in part, because systems that are well characterized in terms of their ecology often lack genomic resources. In this study, we characterize the transcriptome of Timema cristinae stick insects, a system that has been researched intensively in terms of ecological speciation, but for which genomic resources have not been previously developed. Specifically, we obtained >1 million 454 sequencing readsthatassembledinto84937contigsrepresenting approximately 18 282 unique genes and tens of thousands of potential molecular markers. Second, as an illustration of their utility, we used these geno- mic resources to assess multilocus genetic divergence within both an ecotype pair and a species pair of Timema stick insects. The results suggest variable levels of genetic divergence and gene flow among taxon pairs and genes and illustrate afirststeptowardsfuturegenomicworkinTimema. Keywords: gene flow, isolation with migration, next-generation sequencing, speciation, transcriptome Received 3 November 2011; revision received 6 January 2012; accepted 13 January 2012 Introduction resources (some notable exceptions aside, such as three- spine stickleback; Peichel et al. -
Phasmida (Stick and Leaf Insects)
● Phasmida (Stick and leaf insects) Class Insecta Order Phasmida Number of families 8 Photo: A leaf insect (Phyllium bioculatum) in Japan. (Photo by ©Ron Austing/Photo Researchers, Inc. Reproduced by permission.) Evolution and systematics Anareolatae. The Timematodea has only one family, the The oldest fossil specimens of Phasmida date to the Tri- Timematidae (1 genus, 21 species). These small stick insects assic period—as long ago as 225 million years. Relatively few are not typical phasmids, having the ability to jump, unlike fossil species have been found, and they include doubtful almost all other species in the order. It is questionable whether records. Occasionally a puzzle to entomologists, the Phasmida they are indeed phasmids, and phylogenetic research is not (whose name derives from a Greek word meaning “appari- conclusive. Studies relating to phylogeny are scarce and lim- tion”) comprise stick and leaf insects, generally accepted as ited in scope. The eggs of each phasmid are distinctive and orthopteroid insects. Other alternatives have been proposed, are important in classification of these insects. however. There are about 3,000 species of phasmids, although in this understudied order this number probably includes about 30% as yet unidentified synonyms (repeated descrip- Physical characteristics tions). Numerous species still await formal description. Stick insects range in length from Timema cristinae at 0.46 in (11.6 mm) to Phobaeticus kirbyi at 12.9 in (328 mm), or 21.5 Extant species usually are divided into eight families, in (546 mm) with legs outstretched. Numerous phasmid “gi- though some researchers cite just two, based on a reluctance ants” easily rank as the world’s longest insects. -
Hoplothrips Karnyi Distinguishing Features Both Sexes Either Fully Winged Or with Wings Shorter Than Thorax Width
Hoplothrips karnyi Distinguishing features Both sexes either fully winged or with wings shorter than thorax width. Body and legs brown, tarsi and much of fore tibiae yellow, also hind tibiae sometimes yellow at base; antennal segment III mainly yellow, IV–VI variably yellow at base; fore wings weakly Pelta & tergite II shaded toward apex. Antennae 8-segmented; sense Female Antenna cones longer in winged than wingless individuals, segment III with 3 sense cones, IV with 4 sense cones; VIII constricted to base. Head longer than wide, slightly wider across cheeks than across eyes, cheeks without prominent tubercles, but with several small setae in wingless individuals; postocular setae long Male sternite VIII and pointed, wide apart; maxillary stylets retracted to eyes, close together medially. Pronotum without sculpture medially; with four pairs of slender pointed major setae, anteromarginal setae Male head, pronotum & fore legs small. Fore tarsal tooth small in winged but large in wingless individuals. Metanotum without sculpture medially. Fore wing parallel sided, with about 10 duplicated cilia. Abdominal tergites II–VII with two pairs of sigmoid wing-retaining setae, even in wingless individuals, marginal setae S1 long and pointed; tergite IX setae S1 pointed, almost as long as tube. Male varying in size, large males with fore femora swollen; tergite IX setae S2 short and stout; sternite VIII with transverse pore plate extending full width of sternite. Related species This species is not known from California, but is included here as one specimen has been seen from British Colombia. H. karnyi from North America is possibly the same species as the European H. -
Ecological Epigenetics in Timema Cristinae Stick Insects: on the Patterns, Mechanisms and Ecological Consequences of DNA Methylation in the Wild
Ecological epigenetics in Timema cristinae stick insects: On the patterns, mechanisms and ecological consequences of DNA methylation in the wild Clarissa Ferreira de Carvalho A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Sheffield Faculty of Science Department of Animal and Plant Sciences Submission Date April 2019 I II Abstract Epigenetic factors can contribute to phenotypic diversity and to ecological processes. For instance, DNA methylation can influence gene regulation, and thus phenotypic plasticity. However, little is yet known about how and why methylation varies in the wild. In this dissertation, I build on this knowledge by combining ecological, genetic and DNA methylation data from natural and experimental populations of the stick insect Timema cristinae. This species is an important system to ecological genetics studies, which provides good starting point for the investigation of the patterns, drivers, and the possible ecological consequences of natural methylation variation. I obtained methylation data using whole- genome bisulfite sequencing (BS-seq) and genetic data from restriction site associated DNA sequencing (RAD-seq). From a population survey, I found natural methylation variation in T. cristinae (1) is characteristic of “Hemimetabola” insects; (2) is structured in geographical space; and (3) is strongly correlated to genetic variation. In addition, an experiment simulating a host shift was carried out to test for the direct effects of host plant species on T. cristinae methylation levels. In both the population survey and in the experiment, binomial mixed models were used to perform a methylome scan in search of candidate single methylation polymorphisms (SMPs) associated with host plant use. -
First Insight Into Microbiome Profile of Fungivorous Thrips Hoplothrips Carpathicus (Insecta: Thysanoptera) at Different Develop
www.nature.com/scientificreports OPEN First insight into microbiome profle of fungivorous thrips Hoplothrips carpathicus (Insecta: Thysanoptera) Received: 19 January 2018 Accepted: 12 September 2018 at diferent developmental stages: Published: xx xx xxxx molecular evidence of Wolbachia endosymbiosis Agnieszka Kaczmarczyk 1, Halina Kucharczyk2, Marek Kucharczyk3, Przemysław Kapusta4, Jerzy Sell1 & Sylwia Zielińska5,6 Insects’ exoskeleton, gut, hemocoel, and cells are colonized by various microorganisms that often play important roles in their host life. Moreover, insects are frequently infected by vertically transmitted symbionts that can manipulate their reproduction. The aims of this study were the characterization of bacterial communities of four developmental stages of the fungivorous species Hoplothrips carpathicus (Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripidae), verifcation of the presence of Wolbachia, in silico prediction of metabolic potentials of the microorganisms, and sequencing its mitochondrial COI barcode. Taxonomy- based analysis indicated that the bacterial community of H. carpathicus contained 21 bacterial phyla. The most abundant phyla were Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacterioidetes and Firmicutes, and the most abundant classes were Alphaproteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria and Betaproteobacteria, with diferent proportions in the total share. For pupa and imago (adult) the most abundant genus was Wolbachia, which comprised 69.95% and 56.11% of total bacterial population respectively. Moreover, similarity analysis of bacterial communities showed that changes in microbiome composition are congruent with the successive stages of H. carpathicus development. PICRUSt analysis predicted that each bacterial community should be rich in genes involved in membrane transport, amino acid metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, replication and repair processes. Insects are by far the most diverse and abundant animal group, in numbers of species globally, in ecological habits, and in biomass1. -
Anicdotes • ISSUE 17 October 2020
1 ISSUE 17 • October 2020 The official newsletter of the Australian National Insect Collection CSIRO NATIONAL FACILITIES AND COLLECTIONS www.csiro.au INSIDE THIS ISSUE The pandemic response issue David Yeates, Director The pandemic response issue ....................................... 1 We compile this issue as the dumpster fire of a year from Award from our CSIRO Business Unit, hell lurches through its final few months. Usually a vibrant Digital National Facilities and Collections. Welcome to new staff ...................................................2 community for entomologists from all over Australia and the These awards are always heavily world, ANIC has been an eerily quiet place during the depths ANIC wins DNFC 2020 award ........................................3 contested, not least because we are of the pandemic. All our Volunteers, Honorary Fellows, always competing against an army of very Visiting Scientists and Postgraduate Students were asked to Marvel flies a media hit .................................................3 compelling entries from the astronomers stay home. Visitors were not permitted. Under CSIRO’s COVID in DNFC. Congratulations to Andreas response planning, many of our staff worked from home. All our Australian Weevils Volume IV published ...................... 4 and the team. The second significant international trips were postponed, including the International achievement is the publication of Congress of Entomology in Helsinki in July. This has caused some Australian Weevils Volume 4, focussing on Donations: Phillip Sawyer Collection ............................5 David Yeates delay to research progress, as primary types held in overseas the broad-nosed weevils of the subfamily The Waite Institute nematodes come to ANIC ............ 6 institutions could not be examined and species identities could Entiminae. This is a very significant evolutionary radiation of not be confirmed. -
Analysis of the Stick Insect (Clitarchus Hookeri) Genome Reveals a High Repeat Content and Sex- Biased Genes Associated with Reproduction Chen Wu1,2,3* , Victoria G
Wu et al. BMC Genomics (2017) 18:884 DOI 10.1186/s12864-017-4245-x RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access Assembling large genomes: analysis of the stick insect (Clitarchus hookeri) genome reveals a high repeat content and sex- biased genes associated with reproduction Chen Wu1,2,3* , Victoria G. Twort1,2,4, Ross N. Crowhurst3, Richard D. Newcomb1,3 and Thomas R. Buckley1,2 Abstract Background: Stick insects (Phasmatodea) have a high incidence of parthenogenesis and other alternative reproductive strategies, yet the genetic basis of reproduction is poorly understood. Phasmatodea includes nearly 3000 species, yet only thegenomeofTimema cristinae has been published to date. Clitarchus hookeri is a geographical parthenogenetic stick insect distributed across New Zealand. Sexual reproduction dominates in northern habitats but is replaced by parthenogenesis in the south. Here, we present a de novo genome assembly of a female C. hookeri and use it to detect candidate genes associated with gamete production and development in females and males. We also explore the factors underlying large genome size in stick insects. Results: The C. hookeri genome assembly was 4.2 Gb, similar to the flow cytometry estimate, making it the second largest insect genome sequenced and assembled to date. Like the large genome of Locusta migratoria,the genome of C. hookeri is also highly repetitive and the predicted gene models are much longer than those from most other sequenced insect genomes, largely due to longer introns. Miniature inverted repeat transposable elements (MITEs), absent in the much smaller T. cristinae genome, is the most abundant repeat type in the C. hookeri genome assembly. -
10 Walking Sticks: Natural Selection for Cryptic Coloration on Different Host Plants
Case Studies in Ecology and Evolution DRAFT 10 Walking sticks: natural selection for cryptic coloration on different host plants While she was a graduate student at the University of California, Christina Sandoval discovered a new species of insect. Timema christinae is an inconspicuous stick insect that lives in the chaparral of Southern California. It is only about 2 cm long and it feeds mostly at night. During the day it remains still and hides by mimicking the branches and leaves of its host plant. Because they are such good mimics of the host plants they feed on they are called “stick insects” or “walking sticks”. Eggs hatch on ground and young climb into a nearby host plant. Sometimes they never leave that single plant. Despite their inactivity, Sandoval noticed some very interesting differences between the insects. There were two color types. Some of the walking sticks were plain green while the others had a long white stripe on their http://paradisereserve.ucnrs.org/Timem a.html back. Moreover, those two color morphs were associated with two different species of host plant, with one type found on one host plant and the other on the second host. One of the first possibilities she considered was that the two forms were different species. Sandoval brought them back to the lab and found that the two types could interbreed freely, which showed that they were simply color variants of a single species of walking stick. Why, then, were there two colors types? Why were they segregated on different host plant species? She suspected that this was an example of natural selection at work. -
ON Frankliniella Occidentalis (Pergande) and Frankliniella Bispinosa (Morgan) in SWEET PEPPER
DIFFERENTIAL PREDATION BY Orius insidiosus (Say) ON Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) AND Frankliniella bispinosa (Morgan) IN SWEET PEPPER By SCOT MICHAEL WARING A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2005 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I thank my Mom for getting me interested in what nature has to offer: birds, rats, snakes, bugs and fishing; she influenced me far more than anyone else to get me where I am today. I thank my Dad for his relentless support and concern. I thank my son, Sequoya, for his constant inspiration and patience uncommon for a boy his age. I thank my wife, Anna, for her endless supply of energy and love. I thank my grandmother, Mimi, for all of her love, support and encouragement. I thank Joe Funderburk and Stuart Reitz for continuing to support and encourage me in my most difficult times. I thank Debbie Hall for guiding me and watching over me during my effort to bring this thesis to life. I thank Heather McAuslane for her generous lab support, use of her greenhouse and superior editing abilities. I thank Shane Hill for sharing his love of entomology and for being such a good friend. I thank Tim Forrest for introducing me to entomology. I thank Jim Nation and Grover Smart for their help navigating graduate school and the academics therein. I thank Byron Adams for generous use of his greenhouse and camera. I also thank (in no particular order) Aaron Weed, Jim Dunford, Katie Barbara, Erin Britton, Erin Gentry, Aissa Doumboya, Alison Neeley, Matthew Brightman, Scotty Long, Wade Davidson, Kelly Sims (Latsha), Jodi Avila, Matt Aubuchon, Emily Heffernan, Heather Smith, David Serrano, Susana Carrasco, Alejandro Arevalo and all of the other graduate students that kept me going and inspired about the work we have been doing. -
Classification: Phamatodea
NOMINA INSECTA NEARCTICA 637 CLASSIFICATION The primary data comes from unpublished database files of the author. The classification is based on: Bradley, J.D., and B.S. Galil. 1977. The taxonomic arrangement of the Phasmatodea with keys to the subfamilies and tribes. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, 79:176-208. HETERONEMIIDAE Heteronemiinae: Diapheromera, Manomera, Megaphasma, Pseudosermyle, Sermyle. Pachymorphinae: Parabacillus. PHASMATIDAE Cladomorphinae: Aplopus. TIMEMATIDAE Timema. PSEUDOPHASMATIDAE Pseudophasmatinae: Anisomorpha. Family # Names # Valid Heteronemiidae 29 20 Phasmatidae 1 1 Pseudophasmatidae 5 2 Timematidae 10 10 Total 45 33 PHASMATODEA 638 NOMINA INSECTA NEARCTICA HETERONEMIIDAE Anisomorpha Gray 1835 Anisomorpha buprestoides Stoll 1813 (Phasma) Diapheromera Gray 1835 Phasma vermicularis Stoll 1813 Syn. Spectrum bivittatum Say 1828 Syn. Diapheromera arizonensis Caudell 1903 (Diapheromera) Phasma calamus Burmeister 1838 Syn. Diapheromera carolina Scudder 1901 (Diapheromera) Anisomorpha ferruginea Beauvois 1805 (Phasma) Diapheromera covilleae Rehn and Hebard 1909 (Diapheromera) Diapheromera femoratum Say 1824 (Spectrum) Diapheromera sayi Gray 1835 Syn. Bacunculus laevissimus Brunner 1907 Syn. Diapheromera persimilis Caudell 1904 (Diapheromera) TIMEMATIDAE Bacunculus texanus Brunner 1907 Syn. Diapheromera dolichocephala Brunner 1907 Syn. Diapheromera tamaulipensis Rehn 1909 (Diapheromera) Diapheromera torquata Hebard 1934 (Diapheromera) Timema Scudder 1895 Diapheromera velii Walsh 1864 (Diapheromera) -
Pp11–32 Of: Evolution of Ecological and Behavioural Diversity: Australian Acacia Thrips As Model Organisms
PART I ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION OF AUSTRALIAN ACACIA THRIPS SYSTEMATIC FOUNDATIONS In Genesis, light and order were brought forth from chaos, and the world’s biota emerged in six metaphorical ‘days’. The job of an insect systematist is similar but considerably more laborious: from a complex assemblage of forms with sparse biological information attached, to organise, describe and categorise diversity into more or less natural units that share genes. Most biologists only come to appreciate these labours when they are compelled to study a group whose taxonomy is in a chaotic state. Until then, they might view taxonomy as the purview of specialists using arcane knowledge for dubious return on investment, rather than the domain of the only scientists fulfilling God’s instructions to Adam that he name each living thing. This volume provides a comprehensive treatment of Acacia thrips systematics and integrates it with other areas of their biology. As such, the interplay between biology and systematics assumes paramount importance. Non-systematists benefit from systematics in myriad ways. First, without systematics, other biologists remain ignorant not only of what biological units they are studying or seeking to conserve, but what they could choose to study. Indeed, the behavioural studies by Crespi (1992a,b) that led to a resurgence of interest in this group were driven by, and wholly dependent upon, Mound’s (1970, 1971) systematic work. Second, the morphology that most systematists use in species description provides an initial guide to ecological and behavioural phenomena most worthy of study, since morphology sits at the doorstep into natural history, behaviour, ecology and evolution.