Abstract: 【Aim】 To explore the molecular phylogeny of higher taxa of the superfamily Cerambycoidea by using the combined analysis of ribosomal DNA sequences. 【Methods】 Ribosomal 28S rDNA (D2 and D3 region) and 18S rDNA (V4 and V7 region) sequences from total 63 species representing six subfamilies and two families of Cerambycoidea were chosen as the molecular markers and further sequenced. Phylogenetic trees for the two families and six subfamilies of Cerambycoidea were constructed using Neighbor-Jointing (NJ), Maximum-Likelihood (ML) and Bayesian-Inference (BI) methods. 【Results】 Sequence analysis results indicated that 1 404 sites after alignment consisted of 446 variable sites (32.0%) and 958 conserved sites (68.0%). The transition versus transversion ratio (R value) was 1.73. Saturation plot indicated that combined analysis had better linear relation than the single gene analysis, suggesting that the base mutations have not reached saturation. Phylogenetic trees based on NJ, ML and BI methods showed similar topology, suggesting that Lamiinae, Cerambycinae and Lepturinae were all monophyletic group, which was consistent with the results of the traditional morphology. Our results supported the subfamilial placement of Philinae. 【Conclusion】 We successfully reconstructed the phylogenetic trees of higher taxa of Cerambycoidea based on 28S rDNA (D2 and D3 region) and 18S rDNA (V4 and V7 region) sequences. This study confirms that the combined analysis of sequences is an effective method for studying the higher taxonomy of longicorn beetles.

Key words: Cerambycoidea, higher taxa, ribosomal DNA, 18S rDNA, 28S rDNA, molecular phylogeny