Abai, MR

6th International Congress of DipterologyThe position of Diptera in the Holometabola: Evidence frommultiple nuclear genesWiegmann, B.M. (1), S.L. Winterton (2), J. Kim (1), M. Trautwein (1), M. Bertone (1), N.Barr (1) & B. Cassel (1)(1) Department of Entomology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695,USA.(2) California Department of Food & Agriculture, Sacramento, CA 95832-1448, USA.Phylogenetic relationships among the holometabolan orders has been oneof the most controversial and difficult questions in modern insectsystematics. Morphological data support placement of Diptera in theAntliophora along with Mecoptera and Siphonaptera, but convincingevidence for the exact sister group of the Diptera has been elusive.Support for the Neuropteroidea and resolved placement for Hymenopterahas been equally confounding. Elucidation of the closest relatives ofDiptera and the phylogeny of other holometabolan orders is critical foroutgroup comparison, for a more explicit understanding of keymorphological transformations, and for the development of robustgroundplans for Diptera and other holometabolan lineages. Molecularphylogenetic data have contributed significantly to recent re-analyses oforder-level insect relationships, but have also added the possibility that theStrepsiptera are a potential close relative of flies. Building on datagenerated in the NSF-ATOL FLYTREE project, and from several newlycompleted insect genome sequences, we present new evidence fromproteins and protein coding genes on the phylogeny of Holometabola andthe sister-group of the Diptera.Key Words: Holometabola, phylogeny, Diptera, Strepsiptera, genes∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗301