Phylogeny and phylogeography of genus Dasypogon (Diptera, Asilidae) in Turkey

In this study, the phylogenetic relationships and phylogeographic situations of Dasypogon (Asilidae) species distributed in our country were investigated by using COI and ITS-1,2 gene regions. A total of 110 specimens belonging to five different species of the genus, collected between 2018 and 2022 from 29 different localities across the country, were evaluated. COI and ITS-1,2 gene regions were amplified, and data sets were created after Sanger sequencing. Maximum likelihood, Bayesian phylogeny, haplotype network, species boundary determination and molecular clock analyzes were performed using these data sets. In the study, 4 species of the Dasypogon known to exist in our country (D. diadema Fabricius, 1781; D. gerardi Weinberg, 1987; D. irinelae Weinberg, 1986 and D. octonotatus Loew, 1869) and D. kugleri Weinberg, 1986, recorded for the first time in this study, were evaluated. It has been confirmed that these morphotaxonomically described species are genetically distinct species according to COI gene region data. However, no results were obtained from phylogenetic analyzes performed with the ITS-1,2 gene region. Haplotype network analyzes revealed that D. diedema is the most common and oldest species in Anatolia, whereas D. octonotatus and D. kugleri are phylogenetically young species. Molecular clock analysis results indicate that species diversified during the interglacial periods of the Pleistocene in Anatolia. As a result of the study, it was concluded that total genome studies would produce more effective results in elucidating the taxonomic status of the species defined within the Dasypogon genus.