Molecular Phylogenetics of Odonata

Molecular phylogenetics of Odonata employs DNA sequence data to reconstruct the evolutionary relationships among dragonflies and damselflies. Beginning with mitochondrial markers such as cytochrome oxidase I and ribosomal RNA regions, the field has progressed to phylogenomic approaches that integrate hundreds of nuclear and organellar loci. Time-calibrated trees now place the divergence of major odonate lineages in geological context, revealing a Triassic–Jurassic origin for crown groups and later bursts of diversification linked to continental drift and climatic events. Reticulate evolution, in the form of ancestral introgression, has been recognised as a pervasive force, challenging strictly bifurcating models. Insights from codon usage analyses and complete mitogenomes have shed light on selective pressures shaping mitochondrial genes in damselflies and dragonflies. These advances underpin applications in taxonomy, biodiversity assessment and conservation planning by providing robust frameworks for species delimitation, biogeographical inference and identification of evolutionarily distinct lineages.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Analyses of nine newly sequenced complete mitogenomes from both suborders have revealed a consistently weak but directionally biased codon usage favouring AT-ending codons. Comparative studies indicate that purifying selection predominates over mutational bias, with dragonfly mitogenomes under stronger selection than those of damselflies, suggesting more efficient mitochondrial gene expression in dragonflies to support their high-performance flight. In a separate study of the arctic dragonfly Somatochlora sahlbergi, sequencing of the standard barcode gene and 28S ribosomal fragment across North American and Eurasian populations uncovered almost no genetic variation, indicating a single, interbreeding circumpolar species. The unexpected homogeneity highlights both the utility of molecular markers for large-scale population connectivity studies and the need to reassess diagnostic morphological characters for biodiversity monitoring.

Molecular Phylogenetics of Odonata publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in molecular phylogenetics of odonata across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Molecular phylogenetics: Reconstruction of evolutionary relationships using DNA or protein sequence data.

Mitogenome: The complete mitochondrial genome, typically a circular molecule encoding genes for respiration and translation.

Codon usage bias: Non-random usage of synonymous codons in protein-coding genes, influenced by selection and mutation.

Time-calibrated phylogeny: A phylogenetic tree in which branch lengths correspond to estimates of absolute divergence times.

Introgression: Transfer of genetic material between diverged lineages through hybridisation and backcrossing, leading to reticulate evolution.

References

1. A time-calibrated ‘Tree of Life’ of aquatic insects for knitting historical patterns of evolution and measuring extant phylogenetic biodiversity across the world. Earth-Science Reviews (2024).
2. Deep Ancestral Introgression Shapes Evolutionary History of Dragonflies and Damselflies. Systematic Biology (2021).
3. Different mitogenomic codon usage patterns between damselflies and dragonflies and nine complete mitogenomes for odonates. Scientific Reports (2019).
4. Extremely low genetic diversity in a circumpolar dragonfly species, Somatochlora sahlbergi (Insecta: Odonata: Anisoptera). Scientific Reports (2018).