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Phylogenetic relationships of true butterflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea) inferred from COI, 16S rRNA and EF-1α sequences

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Molecules and Cells

Abstract

The molecular phylogenetic relationships among true butterfly families (superfamily Papilionoidea) have been a matter of substantial controversy; this debate has led to several competing hypotheses. Two of the most compelling of those hypotheses involve the relationships of (Nymphalidae + Lycaenidae) + (Pieridae + Papilionidae) and (((Nymphalidae + Lycaenidae) + Pieridae) + Papilionidae). In this study, approximately 3,500 nucleotide sequences from cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI), 16S ribosomal RNA (16S rRNA), and elongation factor-1 alpha (EF-1α) were sequenced from 83 species belonging to four true butterfly families, along with those of three outgroup species belonging to three lepidopteran superfamilies. These sequences were subjected to phylogenetic reconstruction via Bayesian Inference (BI), Maximum Likelihood (ML), and Maximum Parsimony (MP) algorithms. The monophyletic Pieridae and monophyletic Papilionidae evidenced good recovery in all analyses, but in some analyses, the monophylies of the Lycaenidae and Nymphalidae were hampered by the inclusion of single species of the lycaenid subfamily Miletinae and the nymphalid subfamily Danainae. Excluding those singletons, all phylogenetic analyses among the four true butterfly families clearly identified the Nymphalidae as the sister to the Lycaenidae and identified this group as a sister to the Pieridae, with the Papilionidae identified as the most basal linage to the true butterfly, thus supporting the hypothesis: (Papilionidae + (Pieridae + (Nymphalidae + Lycaenidae))).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, 500-757, Korea

    Man Il Kim, Xinlong Wan, Min Jee Kim, Yeon Soo Han & Iksoo Kim

  2. Insect Research Institute of Hampyeong, Chonnam, 525-811, Korea

    Heon Cheon Jeong

  3. Biological Resources Research Department, National Institute of Biological Resources, Incheon, 404-708, Korea

    Neung-Ho Ahn & Ki-Gyoung Kim

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  1. Man Il Kim
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  2. Xinlong Wan
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  3. Min Jee Kim
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Correspondence to Iksoo Kim.

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Kim, M.I., Wan, X., Kim, M.J. et al. Phylogenetic relationships of true butterflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea) inferred from COI, 16S rRNA and EF-1α sequences. Mol Cells 30, 409–425 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10059-010-0141-9

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