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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Systematic Entomology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #408831
Research Project: Systematics of Beetles, Flies, Moths and Wasps with an Emphasis on Agricultural Pests, Invasive Species, Biological Control Agents, and Food Security

Location: Systematic Entomology Laboratory

Title: Phylogenetic affinities of the non-cyclostome subfamilies Amicrocentrinae and Dirrhopinae (Hymenoptera, Braconidae) confirmed by ultraconserved element data

Author
item JASSO-MARTINEZ, JOVANA - Smithsonian Institute
item BRADY, SEAN - Smithsonian Institute
item Kula, Robert

Submitted to: Insect Systematics and Diversity
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/9/2023
Publication Date: 11/22/2023
Citation: Jasso-Martinez, J.M., Brady, S.G., Kula, R.R. 2023. Phylogenetic affinities of the non-cyclostome subfamilies Amicrocentrinae and Dirrhopinae (Hymenoptera, Braconidae) confirmed by ultraconserved element data. Insect Systematics and Diversity. 96:1017-1030. https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.96.111012.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.96.111012

Interpretive Summary: Parasitic wasps attack crop and forest pests that cause billions of dollars of damage annually. The wasp family treated in this paper contains natural enemies critical for controlling plant-feeding beetles, flies, caterpillars, and aphids. Discerning evolutionary relationships among species in this family is essential for predicting biological attributes of species that impact agriculture globally. Completely resolved, well-supported phylogenies are necessary to develop a stable classification for the family, resulting in reliable retrieval of scientific information for included species. The phylogenetic placement of two subfamilies, based on novel genomic data, is reported in this paper. Species in these subfamilies attack moth larvae that feed on maize and chestnut. One of the two subfamilies is included in a molecular-based phylogeny for the first time. Morphological features that support their phylogenetic placement and relationships with other confamilials are assessed and discussed. This paper is useful to scientists conducting research on these wasps, as well as pest management and regulatory personnel.

Technical Abstract: The subfamilies Amicrocentrinae van Achterberg and Dirrhopinae van Achterberg (Hymenoptera, Braconidae) are two small, monogeneric braconid subfamilies whose species exclusively attack lepidopteran larvae. The phylogenetic placement of Amicrocentrinae as a member of the helconoid complex of subfamilies has been supported by morphological and nuclear Sanger sequence data. The subfamilial status of Dirrhopinae, on the other hand, has been subject to debate, although it has been suggested as closely related to the microgastroid complex based on morphology, with no molecular data generated to date for this taxon. Here we generated for the first time ultraconserved element data for members of the above subfamilies (Amicrocentrum sp. and Dirrhope americana Muesebeck) to assess their phylogenetic affinities using a dataset with exhaustive taxon sampling that includes all but one currently valid braconid subfamily. Our results strongly confirm the placement of both taxa within the non-cyclostome helconoid and microgastroid complexes, respectively.