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Phylogeny of Tribolium beetles (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) resolved by combined analysis of mitochondrial genes: congruence with morphological data

The phylogenetic relationships of the three major species groups of Tribolium (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae) were inferred using the combined analysis of a fragment of 642 bp corresponding to the most conserved part of mitochondrial DNA (mt DNA) cytochrome oxidase I (COI) and a 448-452 bp long segment of mt 16S rDNA. The deduced sequence divergence was unexpectedly high for a group of closely related species, ranging from 14% to 22.1% for COI fragment and from 8% to 24% for 16S rDNA. However, the combined analysis produced a phylogenetic tree with high level of confidence. The tree topology clearly showed monophyly of the genus Tribolium whose species were resolved into three groups: T. brevicornis representing the most basal group while T. castaneum, T. freemani, T. madens, T. audax, and T. confusum, T, anaphe, T. destructor cluster into castaneum and confusum groups respectively. Obtained results support previously proposed phylogeny based on morphological data. High sequence divergence, together with morphological differences, suggest ancient origin of the examined species.

Phylogeny; mt DNA; Tribolium

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