Ms Yue Liu1,2, Dr Keith Bayless1, Dr David Yeates1, Dr Xuankun Li2, Dr Ding Yang2

1Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO, Acton, Australia, 2College of Plant Protection, China Agricultural University, Haidian, China

Biography:

Yue is a PhD student from China currently working on the phylogenomics of Lower Brachycera (Diptera) in ANIC. The project aims to reconstruct a robust phylogenetic backbone of Lower Brachycera and reveal the phylogenetic positions of controversial groups. She obtained her master’s degree in 2021 at the College of Plant Protection, China Agricultural University. Her master’s thesis focuses on the taxonomy of subfamily Empidinae (Diptera: Empididae) from western Sichuan of China. Before coming to ANIC, she worked on the taxonomy and phylogeny of Rhagionidae (Diptera: Lower Brachycera). Her research interests lie in the taxonomy and phylogeny of Lower Brachycera.

Abstract:

Lower Brachycera is an early divergent clade of Brachycera that excludes Eremoneura. It is a critical group between Nematocera and Cyclorrhapha phylogenetically, playing an important role in the evolution of Diptera. With more than 24000 described species in 23 extant families, the group is one of the most diverse clades of Diptera and exhibits highly diverse biological characteristics. Recent studies indicate that Lower Brachycera originated 230 million years ago and radiated rapidly in the early Jurassic, coinciding with the origin of angiosperms. Fossil evidence suggests that, during this period, the rise of lower brachyceran flies with long-proboscis was an adaptation to the origin of angiosperms. The timing and diversity make it an ideal group for studying speciation and adaptive evolution. However, relationships among families of Lower Brachycera are not completely resolved. In this project, we aim to reconstruct a robust phylogenetic backbone of Lower Brachycera and reveal the phylogenetic positions of controversial groups. These include highly derived parasitoids in the families Acroceridae and Nemistrinidae. Our sampling covers 22 of 23 extant families, with sampling focused on challenging groups. Thousands of genes were mined from new transcriptomes for 11 taxa and shotgun genomes for 26 taxa, which were generated and combined with existing data to construct a comprehensive data set. In this presentation, I will share the progress on the project that has been made and estimate origins of major lineages. The monophyly of Lower Brachycera is tested, along with the monophyly and placement of its infraorders and superfamilies.