Ultraconserved probe design for phylogenetic analysis of assassin flies and their relatives (Diptera: Asiloidea)

Tuesday, November 12, 2024

2:12 PM – 2:24 PM MST

Location: Phoenix Convention Center, 132 A, PCC

Presenting Author(s)

AC

Allan Cabrero

NSF Postdoctoral Fellow
Smithsonian Institution
Washington, District of Columbia

Co-Author(s)

CA

Charlotte H. E. Alberts

Research Associate
Smithsonian Institution
Silverspring, Maryland
Ziad Khouri (he/him/his)

Graduate Student
University of California
Davis, California
Jovana M. Jasso-Martinez

Researcher (Zoology)
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
TD

Torsten Dikow

Curator of Diptera
Smithsonian Institution
Washington, District of Columbia

Assassin flies and their relatives (Asiloidea) are morphologically and ecologically very diverse with eight families currently recognized (Apioceridae, Apsilocephalidae, Asilidae, Bombyliidae, Evocoidae, Mydidae, Scenopinidae, and Therevidae). However, the phylogenetic relationships among and within the families are poorly understood. In order to further characterize the phylogenetic relationships among Asiloidea, an ultraconserved element (UCE) probe set was designed specifically for Asilidae based on five genomes (Asilidae: Dasypogon diadema, Hermetia illucens, Holcocephala fusca, and Proctacanthus coquilletti; and Culicidae: Aedes aegypti). Excluding the probes based on Aedes aegypti (the base taxon of the original Faircloth (2017) probe set) resulted in a final asiloid-optimized set of 16,373 probes targeting 2,384 loci. In silico tests were used to validate and evaluate the effectiveness of the probe set. Using these newly developed probes, 192 specimens were sequenced across Asiloidea and result in a new phylogenetic hypothesis for the superfamily. With further analysis, the UCE probes set has the potential to greatly improve our understanding of the phylogenetic relationships within and among Asiloidea.