ASPECTOS DE LA BIOLOGIA EVOLUTIVA DE ESPECIES DE TEPHRITIDAE (DIPTERA) DE DISTRIBUCION CHILENA

Resumen

There are about 4.000 described species of Thephritidae (Díptera). The origin of this family is
unknown, ñor are the phylogenetic relations among the species and the mechanisms which generate
and maintain the genetic variation in natural populations well understood. Sludies in evolutionary
biology have shown that different subfamilies may be separated and characterized according to their
hosts, genetic distance and chromosomal mechanisms of sex determination. For some chilean species
their phylogenetic relationships has been established through the electrophoretic method. This
analysis indicates a corelalion between the genetic identity of these flies and the taxonomic
similarity of their plant hosts, which suggests a parallel evolution between insects and plants. This
paper presents a list of species, genera and subfamilies of Tephritidae in Chile for which plants are
known. These hosts also are Usted. Also the citotaxonomy of the Thephritidae is review, with
emphasis on the neotropical and specially the chilean species which I have previously studied, to
establish the similarities and differences among species of various subfamilies.
In Chile the subfamily Tephritinae is the one with the most genera and species, which always are
associaled with plants of the family Compositae. Regarding the chromosomal mechanisms of sex
determination this group is characterized by a ZW chromosomic system, or the sex chromosomes
apparently are isomorphic. On the other hand, the subfamily Trypetinae offers a reduced taxonomic
diversity, infesting groups of plants of other families. Flies in this subfamily have a XY mechanism
of sex determination, which corresponds to the oldest chromosomic sex determination system in the
díptera.