Data from: Genomic and morphological evidence converge to resolve the enigma of Strepsiptera

The phylogeny of insects, one of the most spectacular radiations of life on earth, has received considerable attention. However, the evolutionary roots of one intriguing group of insects, the twisted-wing parasites (Strepsiptera), remain unclear despite centuries of study and debate. Strepsiptera exhibit exceptional larval developmental features, consistent with a predicted step from direct (hemimetabolous) larval development to complete metamorphosis that could have set the stage for the spectacular radiation of metamorphic (holometabolous) insects. Here we report the sequencing of a Strepsiptera genome and show that the analysis of sequence-based genomic data (comprising more than 18 million nucleotides from nearly 4,500 genes obtained from a total of 13 insect genomes), along with genomic metacharacters, clarifies the phylogenetic origin of Strepsiptera and sheds light on the evolution of holometabolous insect development. Our results provide overwhelming support for Strepsiptera as the closest living relatives of beetles (Coleoptera). They demonstrate that the larval developmental features of Strepsiptera, reminiscent of those of hemimetabolous insects, are the result of convergence. Our analyses solve the long-standing enigma of the evolutionary roots of Strepsiptera and reveal that the holometabolous mode of insect development is more malleable than previously thought.

昆虫系统发育作为地球上最引人瞩目的生物辐射演化类群之一，长期以来受到学界广泛关注。然而，尽管历经数百年的研究与学术争论，一类饶有趣味的昆虫类群——捻翅目（Strepsiptera）——的演化起源始终未能明确。捻翅目昆虫展现出极为特殊的幼虫发育特征，契合学界此前预测的演化阶段：从直接发育（渐变态发育，hemimetabolous）模式向全变态发育（holometabolous）模式的转变，而这一转变或曾为全变态昆虫的大规模辐射演化奠定基础。本研究完成了捻翅目昆虫的基因组测序，并通过分析基于序列的基因组数据（涵盖来自13个昆虫基因组的近4500个基因、总计超过1800万条核苷酸序列），结合基因组元性状，明确了捻翅目的系统发育起源，同时为全变态昆虫的发育演化提供了新的见解。我们的研究结果为"捻翅目是甲虫（鞘翅目，Coleoptera）的现生最近缘类群"这一结论提供了压倒性的支持证据。研究同时表明，捻翅目昆虫的幼虫发育特征与渐变态昆虫相似，实则为趋同演化的产物。本研究解决了长期以来困扰学界的捻翅目演化起源之谜，并揭示出昆虫的全变态发育模式比此前认知的更具可塑性。