Mitochondrial phylogenomics brings new light to uncertain taxa evolutionary relationships within the Culicidae family tree

Mitochondrial molecular markers are widely used in phylogenetic reconstruction due to their balance between ease of recovery and species discrimination efficiency. However, inferring deep evolutionary relationships using one or few partial mitochondrial markers remains challenging due to signal saturation over time, often resulting in low phylogenetic support. To address gaps in the phylogeny of Culicidae, we conducted phylogenomic analyses using complete mitochondrial genomes, either newly sequenced or obtained from public databases. We performed three analyses based on different datasets: (1) whole mitogenome nucleotide sequences, (2) partitioned nucleotide sequences of protein-coding genes (PCGs), and (3) concatenated predicted proteins. We assembled seven mitogenomes: Ma. wilsoni, Cq. hermanoi, Cx. taeniopius, Ae. angustivittatus, Cx. erythrothorax, Li. durhamii, and Wy. smithii. Our findings support the inclusion of Lutzia within Culex as a subgenus rather than a separate genus. The placement of Toxorhynchites aligned with previous studies but showed higher support, likely due to broader taxon sampling. Mansonia and Coquillettidia consistently grouped within their expected tribe across all analyses. This study provides a more robust and resolved phylogenetic framework for Culicidae, refining the positioning of historically uncertain taxa within the family.