TY - JOUR T1 - Hidden phylogenomic signal helps elucidate arsenurine silkmoth phylogeny and the evolution of body size and wing shape trade-offs JF - Systematic Biology Y1 - 2022 DO - 10.1093/sysbio/syab090 A1 - Hamilton, C.A. A1 - Winiger, N. A1 - Rubin, J.J. A1 - Breinholt, J. A1 - Rougerie, R. A1 - Kitching, I.J. A1 - Barber, J.R. A1 - Kawahara, A.Y. SP - 859–874 KW - ANCHORED HYBRID ENRICHMENT KW - ARSENURINAE KW - GEOMETRIC MORPHOMETRICS KW - PHYLOGENOMICS KW - SATURNIIDAE KW - TRADE-OFFS KW - TRAITS KW - WING SHAPE AB -

"One of the key objectives in biological research is understanding how evolutionary processes have produced Earth’s diversity. A critical step toward revealing these processes is an investigation of evolutionary tradeoffs—that is, the opposing pressures of multiple selective forces. For millennia, nocturnal moths have had to balance successful flight, as they search for mates or host plants, with evading bat predators. However, the potential for evolutionary trade-offs between wing shape and body size are poorly understood. In this study, we used phylogenomics and geometric morphometrics to examine the evolution of wing shape in the wild silkmoth subfamily Arsenurinae (Saturniidae) and evaluate potential evolutionary relationships between body size and wing shape. The phylogeny was inferred based on 782 loci from target capture data of 42 arsenurine species representing all 10 recognized genera. After detecting in our data one of the most vexing problems in phylogenetic inference—a region of a tree that possesses short branches and no “support” for relationships (i.e., a polytomy), we looked for hidden phylogenomic signal (i.e., inspecting differing phylogenetic inferences, alternative support values, quartets, and phylogenetic networks) to better illuminate the most probable generic relationships within the subfamily. We found there are putative evolutionary trade-offs between wing shape, body size, and the interaction of fore- and hindwing (HW) shape. Namely, body size tends to decrease with increasing HW length but increases as forewing (FW) shape becomes more complex. Additionally, the type of HW (i.e., tail or no tail) a lineage possesses has a significant effect on the complexity of FW shape. We outline possible selective forces driving the complex HW shapes that make Arsenurinae, and silkmoths as a whole, so charismatic."

VL - 71 IS - 4 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Phylogenomics resolves major relationships and reveals significant diversification rate shifts in the evolution of silk moths and relatives. JF - BMC Evolutionary Biology Y1 - 2019 DO - 10.1186/s12862-019-1505-1 A1 - Hamilton, C.A. A1 - St Laurent, R.A. A1 - Dexter, K. A1 - Kitching, I.J. A1 - Breinholt, J.W. A1 - Zwick, A. A1 - Timmermans, M.J.T.N. A1 - Barber, J.R. A1 - Kawahara, A.Y. SP - 182 [1 EP - 13] KW - ANCHORED HYBRID ENRICHMENT KW - APATELODIDAE KW - AROTROS KW - BOMBYCIDAE KW - BOMBYCOIDEA KW - DNA KW - PHYLOGENOMICS KW - PHYLOGENY KW - TARGETED SEQUENCE CAPTURE AB -

"Background: Silkmoths and their relatives constitute the ecologically and taxonomically diverse superfamily Bombycoidea, which includes some of the most charismatic species of Lepidoptera. Despite displaying spectacular forms and diverse ecological traits, relatively little attention has been given to understanding their evolution and drivers of their diversity. To begin to address this problem, we created a new Bombycoidea-specific Anchored Hybrid Enrichment (AHE) probe set and sampled up to 571 loci for 117 taxa across all major lineages of the Bombycoidea, with a newly developed DNA extraction protocol that allows Lepidoptera specimens to be readily sequenced from pinned natural history collections.
Results: The well-supported tree was overall consistent with prior morphological and molecular studies, although some taxa were misplaced. The bombycid Arotros Schaus was formally transferred to Apatelodidae. We identified important evolutionary patterns (e.g., morphology, biogeography, and differences in speciation and extinction), and our analysis of diversification rates highlights the stark increases that exist within the Sphingidae (hawkmoths) and Saturniidae (wild silkmoths).
Conclusions: Our study establishes a backbone for future evolutionary, comparative, and taxonomic studies of Bombycoidea. We postulate that the rate shifts identified are due to the well-documented bat-moth “arms race”. Our research highlights the flexibility of AHE to generate genomic data from a wide range of museum specimens, both age and preservation method, and will allow researchers to tap into the wealth of biological data residing in natural history collections around the globe."

VL - 19 UR - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-019-1505-1 ER -