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ViewAttendees 3

Student 10-Minute Paper

Systematics, Evolution, and Biodiversity

Student Competition

Student

Grad Competition SysEB: Genomics

UCE phylogenomics of Cynipoidea: The plot thickens evermore

Monday, November 6, 2023
9:12 AM – 9:24 AM ET
Location: Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, Chesapeake G-H
In-Person Student Competition

    Presenting Author(s)

  • Louis F. Nastasi

    PhD Candidate
    Pennsylvania State University
    University Park, Pennsylvania

    • Co-Author(s)

  • CD

    Charles Kelley Davis

    Graduate Student
    Pennsylvania State University
    University Park, Pennsylvania

  • Yuanmeng Miles Zhang

    Postdoc
    University of Edinburgh
    Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom

  • AD

    Andrew Deans

    Pennsylvania State University
    University Park, Pennsylvania

  • JT

    John F. Tooker

    Professor
    Pennsylvania State University
    University Park, Pennsylvania

  • Heather M. Hines

    Associate Professor of Biology and Entomology
    Pennsylvania State University
    University Park, Pennsylvania

The wasp superfamily Cynipoidea is notable among Hymenoptera due to its unusual transitions from parasitism to endophytophagy in the form of gall induction. Previous studies have used molecular methods in attempts to decipher the complicated evolutionary history of these wasps, but the relationships within the superfamily remain uncertain. We present a phylogeny of Cynipoidea based on analysis of ultraconserved elements (UCEs) for nearly 400 cynipoid wasps including all subfamilies and tribes, many of which have been excluded from other recent analyses. Our phylogeny confirms the polyphyly of Cynipidae and Figitidae and calls into question a single origin of gall induction within the superfamily. Our analysis indicates multiple origins of gall induction within "Cynipidae", and we suggest several possible origins of gall induction and subsequent transitions to agastoparasitism (inquilinism) within the group. We will use this better-resolved phylogeny to stabilize the taxonomy of family-level cynipoid lineages, including the erection of several families to resolve polyphyly in Cynipidae and Figitidae.