Phylogenetic analysis and a time tree for a large drosophilid data set (Diptera: Drosophilidae)

• Published in: Zoological journal of the Linnean Society Vol. 169; no. 4; pp. 765 - 775
• Main Authors: Russo, Claudia A. M., Mello, Beatriz, Frazão, Annelise, Voloch, Carolina M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.12.2013; Oxford University Press
• Subjects: biogeography; Diptera; Drosophila; Drosophila funebris; Drosophilidae; molecular phylogeny; phylogenetic taxonomy; Pinicola; Sophophora; timescale
• ISSN: 0024-4082; 1096-3642
• DOI: 10.1111/zoj.12062

Drosophila is the genus responsible for the birth of experimental genetics, but the taxonomy of drosophilids is difficult because of the overwhelming diversity of the group. In this study, we assembled sequences for 358 species (14 genera, eight subgenera, 57 species groups, and 65 subgroups) to generate a maximum‐likelihood topology and a Bayesian timescale. In addition to sampling an unprecedented diversity of Drosophila lineages, our analyses incorporated a geographical perspective because of the high levels of endemism. In our topology, Drosophila funebris (Fabricius, 1787) (the type species of Drosophila) is tightly clustered with the pinicola subgroup in a North American clade within subgenus Drosophila. The type species of other drosophilid genera fall within the Drosophila radiation, presenting interesting prospects for the phylogenetic taxonomy of the group. Our timescale suggests that a few drosophilid lineages survived the Cretaceous–Palaeogene (K‐Pg) extinction. The drosophilid diversification began during the Palaeocene in Eurasia, but peaked during the Miocene, an epoch of drastic climatic changes. The most recent common ancestor of the clades corresponding to subgenera Sophophora and Drosophila lived approximately 56 Mya. Additionally, Hawaiian drosophilids diverged from an East Asian lineage approximately 26 Mya, which is similar to the age of the oldest emerging atoll in the Hawaiian–Emperor Chain. Interestingly, the time estimates for major geographical splits (New World versus Asia and Africa versus Asia) were highly similar for independent lineages. These results suggest that vicariance played a significant role in the radiation of fruit flies. © 2013 The Linnean Society of London