Zhiwei Dong

Kunming Institute of Zoology CAS · State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution

Wedge-shaped beetles (Ripiphoridae) not only exhibit enigmatic morphological and biological traits but also disputable phylogenetic positions. At present, however, genetic information regarding this family remains limited. In this study, we report on the complete mitogenome of one ripiphorid beetle, Metoecus javanus (Pic, 1913), from Southwest Chin...

The Elateridae family (click beetles) represents a highly diverse lineage that possesses a specialized clicking mechanism to startle predators. At present, however, phylogenetic relationships, especially among recognized subfamilies, remain contentious. Mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) can help resolve previously intractable phylogenetic relatio...

Papilio machaon was assigned as the type species for all butterflies by Linnaeus and P. bianor is a congener but exhibits a great difference in morphology (especially larva and adult color pattern) and larval host plants from P. machaon. Thus, they are the ideal models to investigate genetic mechanisms underlying morphology and plasticity between c...

Oakleaf butterflies in the genus Kallima have a polymorphic wing phenotype, enabling these insects to masquerade as dead leaves. This iconic example of protective resemblance provides an interesting evolutionary paradigm that can be employed to study biodiversity. We integrated multi-omic data analyses and functional validation to infer the evoluti...

Swallowtail butterflies (Papilionidae) are a historically significant butterfly group due to their colorful wing patterns, extensive morphological diversity, and phylogenetically important position as a sister group to all other butterflies and have been widely studied regarding ecological adaption, phylogeny, genetics, and evolution. Notably, they...

Pupal color polyphenism in Papilio butterflies, including green, intermediate, or brown, is an excellent study system for understanding phenotypic plasticity. Previous studies suggested that development of brown pupae may be controlled by a hormone called pupal-cuticle-melanizing-hormone (PCMH) which is synthesized and secreted from brain-suboesoph...

Here we report a new twisted-wing parasite species of the family Xenidae based on both morphological and molecular evidence. By using nearly complete mitogenomes, we confirmed the twisted-wing parasites on two wasps ( Vespa velutina and Vespa bicolor ) (China: Yunnan) as the same species, and associated its neotenic females and alate males. Combini...

Butterflies are diverse in virtually all aspects of their ontogeny, including morphology, life history, and behavior. However, the developmental regulatory mechanisms underlying the important phenotypic traits of butterflies at different developmental stages remain unknown. Here, we investigated the developmental regulatory profiles of butterflies...

Firefly adult bioluminescence functions as signal communication between sexes. How sympatric sibling species with similar glow pattern recognize their conspecific mates remains largely unknown. To better understand the role of the luciferases of sympatric fireflies in recognizing mates, we cloned the luciferase genes of three sympatric forest dwell...

Taxus, commonly known as yew, is a well-known gymnosperm with great ornamental and medicinal value. Here by assembling a chromosome-level genome of the Himalayan yew (Taxus wallichiana) with 10.9 Gb in 12 chromosomes, we revealed that the driving force of gene family evolution in the genome was tandem duplication, that not only clustered the main g...

Lamprigera is found only in those countries from the Himalaya–Karakoran –Tibet region to SE Asia where 17 species have been previously recorded. These 17 include four species from China. In this work, combined molecular data (COI) and morphological traits identified eight species in our collections. Among these, we found three Chinese species (Lamp...

The nearly complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of Phyllium westwoodii, a typical leaf mimic insect in Phasmatodea, was obtained in this study. This mitogenome is 17,222 bp in length and contains 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNA genes (tRNAs), two ribosomal RNA genes (rRNAs) and almost complete control regions. All PCGs initiat...

While the leaf insects (Phylliidae) are a well-supported group within Phasmatodea, the genus Phyllium Illiger, 1798 has repeatedly been recovered as paraphyletic. Here, the Phyllium (Phyllium) celebicum species group is reviewed and its distinctiveness from the remaining Phylliini genera and subgenera in a phyloge- netic context based on morphologi...

Background Insect body coloration often functions as camouflage to survive from predators or mate selection. Transportation of pigment precursors or related metabolites from cytoplasm to subcellular pigment granules is one of the key steps in insect pigmentation and usually executed via such transporter proteins as the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) tr...

The nearly complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of Xenos cf. moutoni, one twisted-wing parasite on wasp Vespa velutina from Southwest of China, is described in this study. The total length of this mitogenome is 16,717 bp, containing 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNA genes (tRNAs), two ribosomal RNA genes (rRNAs) and an incomplet...

Fireflies are among the most charismatic insects for their spectacular bioluminescence, but the origin and evolution of bioluminescence remain elusive. Especially, the genic basis of luciferin (D-luciferin) biosynthesis and light patterns is largely unknown. Here, we present the high-quality reference genomes of two fireflies Lamprigera yunnana (10...

New Records of the Giant Click-Beetle Sinelater perroti

The leaf resemblance of Kallima (Nymphalidae) butterflies is an important ecological adaptive mechanism that increases survival. However, the genetic mechanism underlying ecological adaptation remains unclear owing to a dearth of genomic information. Herein, we determined the karyotype (n = 31) of the dead‐leaf butterfly Kallima inachus, and genera...

Butterflies have been of great interest to naturalists for centuries, and the study of butterflies has been an integral part of ecology and evolution ever since Darwin proposed his theory of natural selection in 1859. There are > 18 000 butterfly species worldwide, showing great diversity in morphological traits and ecological niches. Compared with...

Background Papilio bianor Cramer, 1777 (commonly known as the Chinese peacock butterfly) (Insecta, Lepidoptera, Papilionidae) is a widely distributed swallowtail butterfly with a wide number of geographic populations ranging from the southeast of Russia to China, Japan, India, Vietnam, Myanmar, and Thailand. Its wing color consists of both pigmenta...

The pH‐insensitive beetle luciferases cloned from Rhagophthalmidae, Phengodidae, and Elateridae exhibit great potential application as reporter assays for monitoring gene expression. At present, however, only one luciferase has been reported from the enigmatic and predominantly Asian distributed luminous family Rhagophthalmidae. Here, we cloned the...

Fireflies are one of the best-known examples of luminescent organisms. The limited geographic distribution and rarity of some firefly genera have hindered molecular phylogenetic analysis, resulting in uncertainty in regard to firefly phylogeny. Here, using genome skimming next-generation sequencing, we sequenced 23 Asian firefly species from 15 gen...

Lamprigera (Lampyridae) is a small genus with only 17 species distributing in Asian countries. Its larviform females and alate males can produce continuously strong yellow‐green light at night. However, no luciferase gene was reported for this genus and its subfamily‐level phylogenetic position still remains uncertain. Here, we cloned the luciferas...

The nearly complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of Sinopyrophorus schimmeli Bi et Li, the luminous click beetle recorded in Asia, is described in this study. It totalizes 15,951 bp and contains 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), two rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes, and most part of AT-rich region. Thirteen PCGs totalize 11,136 bp, start with ATN, stop...

Five specimens of bug-eyed treefrogs of genus Theloderma were collected in Taiyanghe National Forest Park, Simao County, Pu’er Prefecture, Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve, Mengyang and Menglun Towns, Xishuangbanna Prefecture, and Daweishan National Nature Reserve, Pingbian County, Honghe Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China in September 2015, M...

Eukaryotic genome size data are important both as the basis for comparative research into genome evolution and as estimators of the cost and difficulty of genome sequencing programs for non-model organisms. In this study, the genome size of 14 species of fireflies (Lampyridae) (two genera in Lampyrinae, three genera in Luciolinae, and one genus in...

Butterflies are a promising system to explore the genetic, evolutionary, and developmental mechanisms underlying morphological diversification and speciation. Papilio machaon is named as the type-species for all butterflies by Linnaeus, and together with Papilio xuthus, belong to the most basal lineage and the most historically significant groups o...