Insights into the phylogeny of longhorn beetles from phylogenomic data

Abstract

Cerambycidae (Coleoptera: Chrysomeloidea) are a widely distributed group of insects with significant economic importance. Despite substantial efforts and some advancements in inferring the phylogeny of Cerambycidae, high-level phylogenetic relationships within the family, including subfamily and tribe-level classification, remain contentious. In this study, we performed whole-genome sequencing on a total of 65 species. We integrated these comprehensive genomic data with existing whole-genome and transcriptome data to conduct a phylogenetic analysis of Cerambycidae s.s. The results supported the monophyly of Lamiinae, Cerambycinae, and Spondylidinae, whereas Lepturinae and Prioninae were found to be non-monophyletic. Lamiinae were recovered as the sister group to all other Cerambycidae s.s. Spondylidinae were found to be sister to the clade comprising Lepturinae and Necydalinae, and Cerambycinae were identified as the sister group to the clade consisting of Prioninae and Parandrinae. Within Lamiinae, the tribes Mesosini, Saperdini, and Dorcaschematini were found to be monophyletic; however, Acanthocinini, Agapanthiini, Pogonocherini, Pteropliini, Lamiini, and Monochamini were non-monophyletic. This study supported the classification integrating the current Monochamini into Lamiini. Molecular dating analysis suggests that diversification within Cerambycidae s.s. began at the boundary between the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, ~145 Mya.