The time of origin of the capacity to accrete and mine submerged substrates in the midge subfamilies Chironominae Macquart, 1838 and Orthocladiinae Lenz, 1921 (Diptera,Chironomidae): Analysis of mitochondrial genes COI and COII

The nucleotide sequences of the mtDNA cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene fragment 535 bp long (pos. 100 to 634) in 14 midge species (Diptera, Chironomidae): Dicrotendipes nervosus, Endochironomus albipennis, E. tendens, Glyptotendipes barbipes, G. glaucus, G. gripekoveni, G. imbecillis, G. mancunianus, Polypedilum sordens, Stenochironomus gibbus, Synendotendipes kaluginae, Xenochironomus xenolabus, Xenochironomus sp., Cricotopus glacialis, and those of the mtDNA COII gene fragment 561 bp long (pos. 22 to 583) in 3 midge species: Chironomus plumosus, Chironomus balatonicus, and Baeotendipes noctivaga were determined. The time of gene COI divergence in the phytophilous midges of various taxa was estimated. The wood-mining species Stenochironomus gibbus belongs to the most ancient midges which diverged together with the ancestor form of two subfamilies, Chironominae and Orthocladiinae, about 104 Mya. Phytophily evolved in the midge larvae at different times in different taxa: among Chironominae, about 47.2 Mya in P. sordens, not earlier than 20 Mya in Glyptotendipes, Kiefferulus, and Dicrotendipes, and not earlier than 13 Mya in Endochironomus albipennis; among Orthocladiinae, 19 Mya in Cricotopus. The divergence of the genera containing phytophilous and fouling species, both in Chironominae (Dicrotendipes, Glyptotendipes, Kiefferulus) and Orthocladiinae (Orthocladius and Cricotopus), occurred approximately 20 Mya, and coincided with the beginning of formation of the recent-type limnofaunas 23 Mya.