Subtopic Deep Dive

Coleoptera Molecular Phylogenetics
Research Guide

What is Coleoptera Molecular Phylogenetics?

Coleoptera Molecular Phylogenetics uses multi-gene and mitogenomic data to resolve family-level relationships and evolutionary timelines within beetles, integrating phylogenies with fossil calibrations to study diversification rates.

This subtopic analyzes mitochondrial genomes and anchored phylogenomics to clarify beetle systematics. Key studies include Tänzler et al. (2016) on Sunda Arc beetles (71 citations) and Douglas et al. (2021) on Elateridae (70 citations). Over 10 papers from 2012-2023 demonstrate mitogenome sequencing advances.

Curated Papers

Key Challenges

Why It Matters

Robust beetle phylogenies enable comparative evolution studies and biodiversity assessments. Tänzler et al. (2016) link geological history to flightless beetle diversification. Douglas et al. (2021) resolve bioluminescent click beetle relationships, informing pest management. Kusy et al. (2018) reveal early Coleoptera branches via genome sequencing, aiding taxonomy revisions.

Key Research Challenges

Mitogenome Rearrangements

Gene order variations complicate alignments across beetle families. Ayivi et al. (2021) identify novel trnQ-NCR-trnI-trnM rearrangements in Scarabaeidae. Du et al. (2017) report large intergenic spacers in Meloidae, challenging standard phylogenetic models.

Sparse Taxon Sampling

Limited taxa in phylogenies lead to incomplete resolutions. Douglas et al. (2021) note prior molecular studies sampled few Elateridae genes. Wang et al. (2012) highlight gaps in Megaloptera basal holometabolans affecting Coleoptera context.

Fossil Calibration Uncertainty

Inaccurate fossil dates distort timelines. Tänzler et al. (2016) integrate Sunda Arc geology with phylogenies for diversification rates. Goczał et al. (2023) address elytral reduction patterns needing precise calibrations.

Essential Papers

Macroevolution of hyperdiverse flightless beetles reflects the complex geological history of the Sunda Arc

René Tänzler, Matthew H. Van Dam, Emmanuel F. A. Toussaint et al. · 2016 · Scientific Reports · 71 citations

Anchored Phylogenomics, Evolution and Systematics of Elateridae: Are All Bioluminescent Elateroidea Derived Click Beetles?

Hume Douglas, Robin Kundrata, Adam Brunke et al. · 2021 · Biology · 70 citations

Click-beetles (Coleoptera: Elateridae) are an abundant, diverse, and economically important beetle family that includes bioluminescent species. To date, molecular phylogenies have sampled relativel...

The First Mitochondrial Genome for the Fishfly Subfamily Chauliodinae and Implications for the Higher Phylogeny of Megaloptera

Yuyu Wang, Xingyue Liu, Shaun L. Winterton et al. · 2012 · PLoS ONE · 57 citations

Megaloptera are a basal holometabolous insect order with larvae exclusively predacious and aquatic. The evolutionary history of Megaloptera attracts great interest because of its antiquity and impo...

Mitochondrial genomes of blister beetles (Coleoptera, Meloidae) and two large intergenic spacers in Hycleus genera

Chao Du, Lifang Zhang, Ting Lü et al. · 2017 · BMC Genomics · 56 citations

Genome sequencing of Rhinorhipus Lawrence exposes an early branch of the Coleoptera

Dominik Kusy, Michal Motyka, Carmelo Andújar et al. · 2018 · Frontiers in Zoology · 42 citations

The Mitochondrial Genomes of 18 New Pleurosticti (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) Exhibit a Novel trnQ-NCR-trnI-trnM Gene Rearrangement and Clarify Phylogenetic Relationships of Subfamilies within Scarabaeidae

Sam Pedro Galilée Ayivi, Yao Tong, Kenneth B. Storey et al. · 2021 · Insects · 31 citations

The availability of next-generation sequencing (NGS) in recent years has facilitated a revolution in the availability of mitochondrial (mt) genome sequences. The mt genome is a powerful tool for co...

New Mitogenomes of Two Chinese Stag Beetles (Coleoptera, Lucanidae) and Their Implications for Systematics

Ziqi Lin, Fan Song, Teng Li et al. · 2017 · Journal of Insect Science · 28 citations

Although conspicuous and well-studied, stag beetles have been slow to join the genomic era. In this study, mitochondrial genomes of two stag beetles, Sinodendron yunnanense and Prosopocoilus confuc...

Reading Guide

Foundational Papers

Start with Wang et al. (2012, 57 citations) for basal mitogenome context and Chengye Wang et al. (2012, 14 citations) for Cerambycidae organization, establishing mitogenomic baselines for Coleoptera.

Recent Advances

Study Douglas et al. (2021, 70 citations) for Elateridae phylogenomics and Kusy et al. (2018, 42 citations) for early branch insights, plus Goczał et al. (2023, 18 citations) on elytral evolution.

Core Methods

Mitogenome sequencing, anchored phylogenomics, and rearrangement detection via NGS, as in Ayivi et al. (2021), Du et al. (2017), and Tänzler et al. (2016).

How PapersFlow Helps You Research Coleoptera Molecular Phylogenetics

Discover & Search

Research Agent uses searchPapers and exaSearch to find mitogenome papers like 'Macroevolution of hyperdiverse flightless beetles' by Tänzler et al. (2016), then citationGraph reveals 71 citing works on Sunda Arc diversification, and findSimilarPapers uncovers related Elateridae studies by Douglas et al. (2021).

Analyze & Verify

Analysis Agent applies readPaperContent to extract gene arrangements from Ayivi et al. (2021), verifyResponse with CoVe checks phylogenetic tree claims against Douglas et al. (2021), and runPythonAnalysis performs NumPy-based sequence alignments with GRADE scoring for evidence strength in mitogenome rearrangements.

Synthesize & Write

Synthesis Agent detects gaps in elytral evolution coverage post-Goczał et al. (2023), flags contradictions between Kusy et al. (2018) and Wang et al. (2012); Writing Agent uses latexEditText for phylogeny manuscripts, latexSyncCitations for 10+ beetle papers, latexCompile for PDF output, and exportMermaid for diversification rate diagrams.

Use Cases

"Analyze mitogenome rearrangements in Scarabaeidae from Ayivi 2021 using Python"

Research Agent → searchPapers('Scarabaeidae mitogenomes') → Analysis Agent → readPaperContent(Ayivi et al. 2021) → runPythonAnalysis(NumPy pandas sequence alignment and visualization) → matplotlib plot of gene order differences.

"Write LaTeX review of Elateridae phylogenomics citing Douglas 2021"

Synthesis Agent → gap detection(Douglas et al. 2021 + Tänzler 2016) → Writing Agent → latexEditText(draft section) → latexSyncCitations(10 beetle papers) → latexCompile → PDF with embedded phylogenetic trees.

"Find GitHub repos with Coleoptera phylogenetic code near Kusy 2018"

Research Agent → paperExtractUrls(Kusy et al. 2018) → paperFindGithubRepo → Code Discovery → githubRepoInspect(mitogenome pipelines) → runPythonAnalysis(test alignment scripts on Du et al. 2017 data).

Automated Workflows

Deep Research workflow scans 50+ Coleoptera mitogenome papers via searchPapers → citationGraph, producing structured reports on family relationships like Elateridae. DeepScan applies 7-step CoVe checkpoints to verify Douglas et al. (2021) bioluminescence derivations. Theorizer generates hypotheses on elytral reduction drivers from Goczał et al. (2023) + Tänzler et al. (2016) diversification data.

Try Doxa for Coleoptera Molecular Phylogenetics Research

Frequently Asked Questions

What defines Coleoptera Molecular Phylogenetics?

It uses multi-gene and mitogenomic data to resolve beetle family relationships and timelines, integrating fossil calibrations for diversification studies.

What are key methods in this subtopic?

Anchored phylogenomics (Douglas et al., 2021), mitogenome sequencing (Kusy et al., 2018), and gene rearrangement analysis (Ayivi et al., 2021) form core methods.

What are key papers?

Tänzler et al. (2016, 71 citations) on Sunda Arc beetles; Douglas et al. (2021, 70 citations) on Elateridae; Wang et al. (2012, 57 citations) on Megaloptera context.

What open problems exist?

Sparse taxon sampling, mitogenome rearrangement alignment, and fossil calibration accuracy remain challenges, as noted in Douglas et al. (2021) and Ayivi et al. (2021).