Phylogenomic analysis sheds light on the evolutionary pathways towards acoustic communication in Orthoptera

Acoustic communication is enabled by the evolution of specialised hearing and sound producing organs. In this study, we performed a large-scale macroevolutionary study to understand how both hearing and sound production evolved and affected diversification in the insect order Orthoptera, which includes many familiar singing insects, such as crickets, katydids, and grasshoppers. Using phylogenomic data, we firmly establish phylogenetic relationships among the major lineages and divergence time estimates within Orthoptera, as well as the lineage-specific and dynamic patterns of evolution for hearing and sound producing organs. In the suborder Ensifera, we infer that forewing-based stridulation and tibial tympanal ears co-evolved, but in the suborder Caelifera, abdominal tympanal ears first evolved in a non-sexual context, and later co-opted for sexual signalling when sound producing organs evolved. However, we find little evidence that the evolution of hearing and sound producing organs increased diversification rates in those lineages with known acoustic communication.

声学通讯（acoustic communication）的实现依赖于特化听觉与发声器官的演化。本研究开展了一项大规模宏观演化研究，旨在探究听觉与发声的演化历程及其对昆虫纲直翅目（Orthoptera）类群分化的影响；直翅目包含诸多为人熟知的鸣虫类群，如蟋蟀、螽斯与蝗虫。本研究利用系统基因组学数据，明确确立了直翅目主要演化支间的系统发育关系与分化时间估算结果，同时揭示了听觉与发声器官演化的类群特异性动态模式。在螽亚目（Ensifera）中，我们推断基于前翅的刮擦发声（stridulation）与胫节鼓膜听器（tibial tympanal ears）存在协同演化关系；而在蝗亚目（Caelifera）中，腹部鼓膜听器（abdominal tympanal ears）最初演化于非性选择背景下，待发声器官演化出现后，才被招募用于性信号传递。但本研究未发现足够证据表明，在具备已知声学通讯能力的类群中，听觉与发声器官的演化提升了其分化速率。