Feather Louse Phylogenomic Dataset

Philopteridae feather lice are a group of ectoparasitic insects which have intimate relationships with their avian hosts. Feather lice include an enormous number of described species; however, the relationships of major lineages have been clouded by homoplasious characters due to convergent evolution. In this study, a comprehensive phylogenomic analysis of the group is performed which includes 137 feather louse species. Several other analyses are also completed including dating analysis, cophylogenetic reconstructions, and ancestral character estimation to understand the evolution of complex morphological and ecological traits. Phylogenetic results recover high support for the placement of major feather louse lineages, but with lower support for long-branched enigmatic genera found at the base of the tree. The results of dating analyses suggest modern feather lice began to diversify approximately 49 million years ago following the adaptive radiation of their avian hosts. Cost-based cophylogenetic reconstructions recover a high frequency of host switching, while congruence-based methods indicate a significant level of congruence between host and parasite trees. Ancestral state reconstructions favor a generalist ancestor and water bird host at the root. The analyses completed provide insight into the evolution of a diverse group of ectoparasitic insects which infest a wide variety of avian hosts. The results represent the most comprehensive phylogenetic hypothesis of the group to date and provide a framework for future classification of the family into natural groupings.

虱毛科（Philopteridae）羽虱是一类与鸟类宿主具有紧密依存关系的外寄生昆虫（ectoparasitic insect）。该类群已描述物种数量众多，但受趋同演化导致的同塑性状（homoplasious character）影响，其主要支系间的系统发育关系长期以来模糊不清。本研究针对该类群开展了涵盖137种羽虱的全面系统基因组学（phylogenomic）分析，并同步开展了多项配套分析，涵盖分化时间估算、协同系统发育（cophylogenetic）重建与祖先状态推演，以解析羽虱复杂形态与生态性状的演化历程。系统发育分析结果显示，羽虱主要支系的分类位置得到了较高的支持度，但对于系统发育树基部的长分支神秘属类，支持度相对较低。分化时间分析结果表明，现代羽虱类群的多样化始于约4900万年前，恰逢其鸟类宿主发生适应性辐射之后。基于代价的协同系统发育重建结果显示，宿主转换事件发生频率较高；而基于一致性的分析方法则表明，宿主与寄生生物的系统发育树之间存在显著的共分化一致性。祖先状态重建结果支持，该类群的根部祖先为泛宿主型，且初始宿主为水鸟类群。本研究的各项分析为解析这一类侵染多种鸟类宿主的多样外寄生昆虫的演化历程提供了新的研究视角。本次研究结果是目前该类群最全面的系统发育假说，同时也为未来将该科划分为自然类群的分类学研究提供了理论框架。