Article
Geological Changes of the Americas and their Influence on the Diversification of the Neotropical Kissing Bugs (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae)
Registro en:
JUSTI, Silvia A.; GALVÃO, Cleber; SCHRAGO, Carlos G. Geological Changes of the Americas and their Influence on the Diversification of the Neotropical Kissing Bugs (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae). PLoS Negl. Trop. Dis., v. 10, n. 4, p. 1-22, Apr. 2016.
1935-2727
10.1371/ journal.pntd.0004527
1935-2735
Autor
Justi, Silvia A.
Galvão, Cleber
Schrago, Carlos G.
Resumen
Background
The family Reduviidae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera), or assassin bugs, is among the most
diverse families of the true bugs, with more than 6,000 species. The subfamily Triatominae
(kissing bugs) is noteworthy not simply because it is the only subfamily of the Reduviidae
whose members feed on vertebrate blood but particularly because all 147 known members
of the subfamily are potential Chagas disease vectors. Due to the epidemiological relevance
of these species and the lack of an efficient treatment and vaccine for Chagas disease,
it is more common to find evolutionary studies focusing on the most relevant vectors
than it is to find studies aiming to understand the evolution of the group as a whole. We present
the first comprehensive phylogenetic study aiming to understand the events that led to
the diversification of the Triatominae.
Methodology/Principal Findings
We gathered the most diverse samples of Reduviidae and Triatominae (a total of 229 Reduviidae
samples, including 70 Triatominae species) and reconstructed a robust dated
phylogeny with several fossil (Reduviidae and Triatominae) calibrations. Based on this
information, the possible role of geological events in several of the major cladogenetic
events within Triatominae was tested for the first time. We were able to not only correlate
the geological changes in the Neotropics with Triatominae evolution but also add to an old
discussion: Triatominae monophyly vs. paraphyly.
Conclusions/Significance
We found that most of the diversification events observed within the Rhodniini and Triatomini
tribes are closely linked to the climatic and geological changes caused by the Andean uplift in South America and that variations in sea levels in North America also played a role
in the diversification of the species of Triatoma in that region.