The complete mitochondrial genome of Brachytarsina amboinensis (Diptera: Hippoboscoidea: Streblidae) provides new insights into phylogenetic relationships of Hippoboscoidea.

Abstract

The family Streblidae is a significant grouping of dipteran insects within the superfamily Hippoboscoidea, which parasitizes the body surface of bats. With the global spread of bat-related pathogens in recent years, Streblidae has gained increasing attention due to its potential for pathogen transmission. A sample of Brachytarsina amboinensis was sequenced on the B. amboinensis were obtained, compared with available Streblidae mitogenomes, and the phylogeny of Hippoboscoidea was reconstructed. The results indicate that the mitochondrial genome of B. amboinensis exhibits a relatively high degree of conservation, with an identical gene count, arrangement, and orientation as the ancestral insect's genome. Base composition analysis revealed a strong bias towards A and T in the base composition. Selection pressure analysis indicated strong purifying selection acting on cox1. Pairwise genetic distance analysis showed that cox1 evolved at a relatively slow rate. Regarding phylogenetic relationships, the constructed phylogenetic trees using Bayesian inference and Maximum Likelihood methods supported the monophyly of the Hippoboscoidea, Glossinidae, Hippoboscidae, and Nycteribiidae clades, with high nodal support values. Our research confirmed the paraphyly of the families Streblidae. In the familial relations between Nycteribiidae and Streblidae, New World Streblidae share a closer kinship with Nycteribiidae. This contrasts with prior findings which indicated that Old World Streblidae share a closer kinship with Nycteribiidae. This study not only enhances the molecular database for bat flies but also provides a valuable reference for the identification and phylogenetic analysis of Streblidae.