Diversity, adaptation, and evolution II: Preface

Abstract

This special issue focuses on the evolution of insects. The following is a general introduction to the articles in this special issue. It includes 14 research articles that provide new insights into insect diversity and evolution.

The first topic covered in this special issue is the comparative analysis of insect mitogenomes and phylogenetics. Seven papers were published on this subject, including those by Pakrashi et al. (2023), Qi et al. (2023), Huang et al. (2023), Li et al. (2023), Guo et al. (2023), Li et al. (2024b) and Lin et al. (2024). Pakrashi et al. (2023) specifically focused on the invasive pest species Thrips parvispinus, characterizing its complete mitochondrial genome. The phylogenetic analysis supported the monophyly of Phlaeothripinae and Idolothripinae under suborder Tubulifera. Qi et al. (2023) analyzed the mitogenomes of five Thienemanniella species and explored their interspecific relationships based on mitogenomics data. Huang et al. (2023) reported four mitogenomes of Elateridae and conducted comparative analyses to further understand their evolutionary patterns. The phylogenetic results confirmed the monophyly of Cardiophorinae, Agrypninae, and Elaterinae with high support. Li et al. (2024b) obtained the mitogenome of Cricotopu (Pseudocricotopus) cf. montanus and nine other Cricotopus species for phylogenetic analysis. Guo et al. (2023) expored the interrelationships among the syrphid and pipunculid members of Syrphoidea using mitochondial genome sequences of 152 taxa (9 newly sequenced). The results approved that the Syrphoidea was nonmonophyletic and Microdontinae was sister to all other Syrphidae. Li et al. (2024a) demonstrates the close relationship between gene rearrangements and phylogeny in Thripidae. The phylogenetic trees confirmed the monophyly of four families of Thysanoptera and the phylogenetic status of Aptinothrips stylifer. Lin et al. (2024) combined six newly seqenced and 65 published mitochondrial genomes from Carabidae to reconstruct the phylogenetic tree of this family, they suggested that Carabidae is not a monophyletic group, but the monophyly of each subfamilies (Carabinae and Harpalinae) is still controversial.

The second topic addressed in this special issue is the integrative taxonomy of insects, as discussed by Yu et al. (2023) and Li et al. (2023). Yu et al. (2023) utilized a combination of cladistics, ABGD, jMOTU, bPTP, and morphologic methods to confirm the existence of nine Ceriagrion species in China. Their study also reported two synonyms, one new record, one distribution elimination, and three misidentifications. Li et al. (2023) reviewed Rheotanytarsus guineensis species group from China using morphological data and DNA barcodes, detecting five new species.

Within this special issue, the third topic addressed was the molecular classification and methods, as explored by Zhou et al. (2024) and Zhang et al. (2024). Zhou et al. (2024) investigated the species boundaries of closely related Carbula species using mitogenomic data. The use of the mitogenome as a marker for species delimitation has limitations, as shown by their results. In a study by Zhang et al. (2024), 889 DNA barcodes, including 687 newly sequenced barcodes, were analyzed from six Gampsocleis species. Both the BIN and ASAP algorithms grouped the long-winged species G. sedakovii and G. sinensis together in the same MOTU. However, all species delimitation algorithms separated the short-winged species G. carinata, G. fletcheri, and G. gratiosa into at least two MOTUs each, except for the ASAP algorithm.

The special issue's fourth topic was gene function and evolution, as discussed in papers by Cao et al. (2024) and Meng et al. (2024). Cao et al. (2024) identified Grapholita molesta's β-1,3-glucan recognition gene (GmBGRP) and found that its expression increased in response to fungal infection. Silencing GmBGRP significantly downregulated the expression level of immune-related genes. Meng et al. (2024) explored the evolution pattern of duplicated control regions (CRs) in thrips. This study demonstrates that the duplication of the CR is an apomorphic state for thrips. The earlier diverged CR duplication exhibited a lower similarity. Furthermore, mitogenomes with duplicated CRs exhibited a significantly increased rate of sequence evolution and gene arrangement.

This editorial concludes by revisiting a paper in this special issue that examines the genetic variation and population structure of a widely distributed damselfly (Jiang et al., 2023). The study estimated the genetic diversity of Ischnura senegalensis populations worldwide using cytochrome oxidase I sequences. According to the current data, the results indicate that Afrotropical and Oriental populations do not share a common haplotype. It is possible that genetic diversity is impacted by ice cultivation and geographic isolation.

Finally, we would like to express our gratitude to Prof. Yonggyun Kim for inviting us to be guest editors of the Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology. We also extend our appreciation to all the contributors to this special issue for sharing their work, and to the responsible reviewers for their valuable comments that significantly improved the quality of these manuscripts.

Rui-E Nie drafted the manuscript. Shou-Ke Zhang and Huai‒Jun Xue revised the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

The authors declare no conflict of interest.