1
|
Gainett G, Klementz BC, Setton EVW, Simian C, Iuri HA, Edgecombe GD, Peretti AV, Sharma PP. A plurality of morphological characters need not equate with phylogenetic accuracy: A rare genomic change refutes the placement of Solifugae and Pseudoscorpiones in Haplocnemata. Evol Dev 2024; 26:e12467. [PMID: 38124251 DOI: 10.1111/ede.12467] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2023] [Revised: 11/28/2023] [Accepted: 12/04/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
Recent advances in higher-level invertebrate phylogeny have leveraged shared features of genomic architecture to resolve contentious nodes across the tree of life. Yet, the interordinal relationships within Chelicerata have remained recalcitrant given competing topologies in recent molecular analyses. As such, relationships between topologically unstable orders remain supported primarily by morphological cladistic analyses. Solifugae, one such unstable chelicerate order, has long been thought to be the sister group of Pseudoscorpiones, forming the clade Haplocnemata, on the basis of eight putative morphological synapomorphies. The discovery, however, of a shared whole genome duplication placing Pseudoscorpiones in Arachnopulmonata provides the opportunity for a simple litmus test evaluating the validity of Haplocnemata. Here, we present the first developmental transcriptome of a solifuge (Titanopuga salinarum) and survey copy numbers of the homeobox genes for evidence of systemic duplication. We find that over 70% of the identified homeobox genes in T. salinarum are retained in a single copy, while representatives of the arachnopulmonates retain orthologs of those genes as two or more copies. Our results refute the placement of Solifugae in Haplocnemata. Subsequent reevaluation of putative interordinal morphological synapomorphies among chelicerates reveals a high incidence of homoplasy, reversals, and inaccurate coding within Haplocnemata and other small clades, as well as Arachnida more broadly, suggesting existing morphological character matrices are insufficient to resolve chelicerate phylogeny.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Guilherme Gainett
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Benjamin C Klementz
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Emily V W Setton
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Catalina Simian
- Departamento de Diversidad Biológica y Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
- Laboratorio de Biología Reproductiva y Evolución, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas Técnicas (CONICET), Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal (IDEA), Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Hernán A Iuri
- División de Aracnología, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia", Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Gregory D Edgecombe
- Department of Earth Sciences, Division ES Invertebrates and Plants Palaeobiology, The Natural History Museum, London, UK
| | - Alfredo V Peretti
- Departamento de Diversidad Biológica y Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
- Laboratorio de Biología Reproductiva y Evolución, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas Técnicas (CONICET), Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal (IDEA), Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Prashant P Sharma
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| |
Collapse
|