THE NATURAL HISTORY AND COMPARATIVE TRANSCRIPTOMICS OF A PREDATORY DROSOPHILID, ACLETOXENUS CF. INDICUS, AND ITS POSITION IN THE DROSOPHILIDAE PHYLOGENY

Abstract

THE FIRST VIDEO EVIDENCE OF PREDATION BY A SINGAPORE DROSOPHILID, ACLETOXENUS CF. INDICUS, ON ALEUROTRACHELUS TRACHOIDES WERE OBTAINED. THIS BEHAVIOUR WAS CONFIRMED BY LARVAE THAT HAVE MORPHOLOGICAL ADAPTATIONS TO PREDATION BECAUSE THE CEPHALOPHARYNGEAL SKELETON LACKS THE PHARYNGEAL FILTER. FURTHERMORE, THE MORPHOLOGICAL FEATURES THAT HAVE BEEN TRADITIONALLY USED FOR DISTINGUISHING ACLETOXENUS SPECIES (COLOUR PATTERNS ON MESONOTUM) VARY ACROSS INDIVIDUALS FROM ONE POPULATION. A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF TRANSCRIPTOMIC DATA OBTAINED FROM LARVAE SHOWED RELATIVELY LOWER EXPRESSION LEVELS IN HOMEOSTASIS AND DEVELOPMENTAL GENES THAT DIFFER CONSIDERABLY FROM DROSOPHILA HOMOLOGUES. TWO METHODS (SUPERMATRIX AND SUPERTREE) ARE USED TO BUILD THE DROSOPHILIDAE PHYLOGENY ALTHOUGH THE RESULTS ARE NOT SATISFACTORY IN TERMS OF RESOLUTION, SUPPORT, AND CONGRUENCE WITH EXISTING CLASSIFICATION. ACLETOXENUS WAS FOUND TO BE IN A ¿BASAL¿ POSITION IN THE LIKELIHOOD ANALYSES WHILE IT IS NESTED IN A CLADE CONSI