Molecular phylogenetic analysis of the main lineages of Nymphalidae(Lepidoptera,Rhopalocera)based on mitochondrial 16S rDNA sequences

Fragments of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene were amplified and sequenced for 27 species from 7 subfamilies of the Nymphalidae and 2 species of Danaidae.Combining these with the homologous sequences of 6 species of Nymphalidae obtained from the GenBank,their sequence variations were analyzed and their phylogenetic trees were reconstructed,in an attempt to clarify their phylogenetic relationships.The results of sequence variations showed that the length of the aligned fragments was 494 bp,including 206 variable and 145 parsimonious informative sites.The percentages of A+T and C+G were 78.4% and 21.6%,respectively.Using Parantica aglea and Euploea core as outgroups,the phylogenetic trees were reconstructed with NJ and Bayesian methods.Results of phylogenetic analyses showed that the Nymphalinae is not monophyletic,and that Junonia should be classified into Hypolimni.The Apaturinae,Byblinae and Nymphalinae are closely related to each other,and the Argynninae and Heliconniinae should be categorized into one subfamily.The Pseudergolinae and Byblinae should be separated from the Limenitinae.