Researchers from the 11 institutes, six nations including of the MSC, University of Tsukuba used transcriptomics (a type of gene sequencing) calibrated using information from the fossil record to create the first phylogenetic reconstruction of the insect order Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies), covering 105 species. This reconstruction of the evolutionary history allowed robust estimations of the species divergence time (or first appearance, around 200 million years ago) and the timing of evolutionary changes, such as the development of egg-laying organs.

more details >> 　Linking the past and present: Reconstructing the dragonfly and damselfly family tree

Original paper: M. Kohli, H. Letsch, C. Greve, O. Béthoux, I. Deregnaucourt, S. Liu, X. Zhou, A. Donath, C. Mayer, L. Podsiadlowski, S. Gunkel, R. Machida, O. Niehuis, J. Rust, T. Wappler, X. YU, B. Misof, J. Ware (2021) Evolutionary history and divergence times of Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) revealed through transcriptomics. iScience DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.103324.

Contact person: Ryuichiro Machida (Visiting Researcher)

machida[at]sugadaira.tsukuba.ac.jp