Analysis of 18S rRNA gene of Octostigma sinensis (Projapygoidea: Octostigmatidae) supports the monophyly of Diplura

The phylogenetic position of Diplura within Hexapoda has been controversial. There are three major lineages in Diplura: Campodeoidea, Projapygoidea, and Japygoidea. However, most of the previous studies were restricted to Campodeoidea and Japygoidea. Until now, only preliminary morphological study on Projapygoidea was reported, and no sequence data from Projapygoidea was available. The main aim of the present study was to investigate the phylogenetic position of Octostigmatidae, one of the three families of Projapygoidea, in Diplura and to test if Diplura are monophyletic. The complete 18S rRNA gene sequences of Octostigma sinensis (Projapygoidea: Octostigmatidae) from subtropical China, together with representative species of Campodeoidea and Japygoidea, and several species of Protura and Collembola were analyzed. The phylogenetic trees were obtained by different methods (neighbor-joining, maximum parsimony, and maximum likelihood) with a chelicerate species as outgroup. Our results suggested that Octostigma was closer to the genus Parajapyx (Japygoidea: Parajapygidae) than to the representative genus of Campodeidae (Campodeoidea). All phylogenetic trees supported the monophyly of Diplura.