A molecular phylogeny and phylogeography of Greek Aegean Island sand flies of the genus Phlebotomus (Diptera: Psychodidae)

The genus Phlebotomus (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae) comprises a group of small winged insect species of medical importance. To date, ten species of Phlebotomus are known to be present in Greece; yet their evolutionary history is poorly studied due to the lack of comprehensive phylogenetic and phylogeographic studies. Herein, we aim to clarify the phylogenetic relationships amongst the local species collected from 12 Aegean Islands, Cyprus and Turkey; and to identify which of the palaeogeographic events may have influenced their biogeographic history. Our analyses revealed for the first time the presence of P. cf. major and P. setgenti in the Aegean Islands. All studied local species were retrieved as monophyletic and the mtDNA and nDNA phylogenetic trees indicated a plausible mitochondrial introgression between the closely related species of the P. major complex. From a palaeogeographic viewpoint, the major driving force that shaped the biogeographic history of the studied Phlebotomus species seems to be the dispersal that started in the Oligocene epoch, followed by several speciation events that occurred at the end of Miocene and the Plio-Pleistocene, including multiple dispersal events of Asiatic origin. The Messinian Salinity Crisis, the bimodal Mediterranean climate, and the glacial and interglacial periods were identified as key drivers for the diversification of the local species of Phlebotomus.