Molecular systematics of the tephritoidea (Insecta: Diptera): Phylogenetic signal in 16S and 28S rDNAs for inferring relationships among families

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Abstract
Phylogenetic signal present in the mitochondrial 16S ribosomal RNA gene (16S rDNA) and the nuclear large subunit ribosomal RNA gene (28S rDNA) was explored to assess their utility in resolving family level relationships of the superfamily Tephritoidea. These two genes were chosen because they appear to evolve at different rates, and might contribute to resolve both shallow and deeper phylogenetic branches within a highly diversified group. For the 16S rDNA data set, the number of aligned sites was 1,258 bp, but 1,204 bp were used for analysis after excluding sites of ambiguous alignment. Among these 1,204 sites, 662 sites were variable and 450 sites were informative for parsimony analysis. For the 28S rDNA data set, the number of aligned sites was 1,102 bp, but 1,000 bp were used for analysis after excluding sites of ambiguous alignment. Among these 1000 sites, 235 sites were variable and 95 sites were informative for parsimony analysis. Our analyses suggest that: (1) while 16S rDNA is useful for resolving more recent phylogenetic divergences, 28S rDNA can be used to define much deeper phylogenetic branches; (2) the combined analysis of the 16S and 28S rDNAs enhances the overall resolution without losing phylogenetic signal from either single gene analysis; and (3) additional genes that evolve at intermediate rates between the 16S and 28S rDNAs are needed to further resolve relationships among the tephritoid families.

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