Timing and host plant associations in the evolution of the weevil tribe Apionini (Apioninae, Brentidae, Curculionoidea, Coleoptera) indicate an ancient co-diversification pattern of beetles and flowering plants

Sven Winter, Friedman, Ariel, Jonas J. Astrin, Brigitte Gottsberger, Harald Letsch

Publications: Contribution to journalArticlePeer Reviewed

Abstract

Host plant shifts of insects can lead to a burst of diversification driven by their arrival in a new adaptive zone. In this context, our study aims to explore timing and patterns in the evolution of the weevil tribe Apionini (Brentidae, Curculionoidea, Coleoptera), particularly in relation to affiliations with their host plants. The classification of Apionini is difficult because of their relatively uniform appearance. Most taxa live mono- or oligophagously on members of Asteraceae or Fabaceae, but many are associated with other plant families, like Lamiaceae, Malvaceae and Polygonaceae. However, a comprehensive hypothesis of the phylogenetic relationships within the tribe Apionini is still missing. In the present study, we reconstructed trees and estimated divergence times among tribes. These results were further used to reconstruct the ancestral host plant use in Apionini weevils and to infer if the divergence timing of putative subtribes corresponds with the occurrence and radiation of their specific host plant groups. Phylogenetic analyses confirm the monophyly of most subtribes, with the exceptions of Oxystomatina, Kalcapiina and Aspidapiina. The subribe Aplemonina is inferred to be sister to all remaining Apionini. Divergence time estimates indicate the first occurrence of Apionini in the Upper Cretaceous and a simultaneous occurrence of several families of flowering plants and the occupation by Apionini weevil herbivores. These conspicuous coincidences support either an ancient co-diversification scenario or an escalating diversification in weevils induced by the radiation of flowering plants.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)179-190
Number of pages12
JournalMolecular Phylogenetics and Evolution
Volume107
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2017

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

  • 106005 Bioinformatics
  • 106013 Genetics
  • 106012 Evolutionary research
  • 106033 Phylogeny

Keywords

  • ALIGNMENT
  • Ancestral state reconstruction
  • DEFENSE
  • Divergence time estimation
  • EXPLAIN
  • HISTORY
  • Host plant association
  • INFERENCE
  • Insect plant coevolution
  • PHYLOGENY
  • Phylogeny
  • RADIATION
  • REVEALS
  • TREE
  • Weevils

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