Phylogenomics redefines the evolutionary history of mosquitoes
Abstract
Mosquitoes have a substantial impact on human and animal health, but their deeper evolutionary relationships have been difficult to resolve. We inferred a time-calibrated phylogenetic history of mosquitoes using conserved genome-wide markers from representatives of major lineages. Our analyses revealed that codon bias and positive selection in subfamily Anophelinae contributed to a substantial level of branch attraction bias between Anophelinae and outgroup taxa, which in our view has misled previous phylogenetic analyses of mosquitoes. Accounting for this systematic phylogenetic bias led to a revised view of mosquito evolution, including the nonmonophyly of subfamily Culicinae. Similarly, we dated the origin of mosquitoes to the mid-Cretaceous (~106 Mya) and most extant genera to after the KPg boundary <66 Mya, 100 My younger than previous estimates and coincident with the origin of Plasmodium parasites. Our study provides a foundation for future analyses of the evolution of mosquito-borne disease.
Article Details
Journal Info
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
National Academy of Sciences
Authors (9)
Mac P. Pierce
State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, School of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong
Brian M. Worthington
State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, School of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong
Shaolin Han
Centre for Immunology and Infection Limited
Xue-Bing Ni
State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, School of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong
Yunshi Liao
State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, School of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong
Marcus H. Shum
State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, School of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong
Yi Guan
State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, School of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong
Edward C. Holmes
Tommy T. Lam
State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, School of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong