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Phylogenetic placement of A ustralian carrion beetles (Coleoptera: S ilphidae)
Author(s) -
King Jocelyn E,
Riegler Markus,
Thomas Richard G,
SpoonerHart Robert N
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
austral entomology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.502
H-Index - 39
eISSN - 2052-1758
pISSN - 2052-174X
DOI - 10.1111/aen.12138
Subject(s) - biology , phylogenetic tree , subfamily , mitochondrial dna , amplicon , evolutionary biology , nuclear dna , phylogenetics , zoology , polymerase chain reaction , genetics , gene
A ustralia hosts two endemic species of silphid beetles, P tomaphila lacrymosa and P tomaphila perlata , and a third species, D iamesus osculans , that also occurs throughout south‐east A sia. While field studies have shown that S ilphidae can provide useful information for determining the post‐mortem interval, the inability to identify larvae in locations with multiple species excludes this application. Before molecular diagnostic tools can be developed for larvae of the three A ustralian species, an analysis of their phylogenetic relationship is required. However, this has previously not been attempted by using molecular markers. Including DNA sequences of non‐endemic silphid species, we determined the phylogenetic placement of all three A ustralian species based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA markers from morphologically identified adult specimens. In our study, P tomaphila spp. grouped with S outh A merican O xelytrum at the base of the S ilphinae and thus represent ancient lineages from the southern hemisphere. Our findings support previous theories that the truncate elytra only found within N ecrodini (i.e. D iamesus and N ecrodes of the subfamily S ilphinae) and the subfamily of N icrophorinae result from convergent evolution. In an attempt to identify larvae of the three A ustralian silphid species collected within two locations in the H awkesbury region near S ydney, we developed a preliminary PCR ‐based tool for their molecular identification using the mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences obtained from the morphologically identified adult specimens. Sequence analysis and species characteristic PCR amplicon sizes provided a reliable method for identification of silphid larvae from this location to species level in the absence of any comparative morphological keys and descriptions for these life stages, although it is recommended that this method be tested for individuals from throughout the species' distribution in the future.