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We report the complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) ofApodemia mormoin the lepidopteran family Riodinidae. The 15,262 bp long complete genome was comprised of 13 protein-coding genes, two rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes and 1 major non-coding A + T-rich region, with the arrangement typically found in the majority of Lepidoptera. The genes ofA. mormowere interleaved with a total of 168 bp, which were spread over 16 regions and overlapped 58 bp at eight locations. All tRNAs of theA. mormomitogenome formed a typical cloverleaf structure, except tRNASer(AGN), which formed a truncated dihydrouridine arm. The COI gene started with CGA as seen in other Lepidoptera, instead of canonical ATN. The 349 bp long A + T-rich region harbored conserved sequence blocks, such as an ATAGA motif, a poly-T stretch, a conserved ATTTA sequence, and a microsatellite A/T repeat typically found in Lepidoptera, but absent from the tRNA-like pseudogene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we determined the complete mitochondrial genome of the jewel beetle, Chrysochroa fulgidissima (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), from four overlapping fragments. The 15,592 bp C. fulgidissima mitogenome exhibits a gene arrangement and content identical to the most common type in insects. The start codon of the C. fulgidissima COI gene is unusual, in that no typical ATN codon is available. The 875 bp A+T-rich region is the shortest among the coleopteran mitogenomes that have thus far been sequenced in their entirety. The most unusual feature of the genome is the presence of three tRNA-like sequences within the A+T-rich region: two tRNALeu(UUR)-like sequences and one tRNAAsn-like sequence. These sequence stretches have the proper anticodon sequence and the potential to form secondary structures, but also harbor many mismatches in the stems. Phylogenetic analysis using a concatenation of 13 amino acid sequences of protein-coding genes among the available sequenced species of coleopteran superfamilies (Buprestoidea and Elateroidea belonging to the infraorder Elateriformia, and Chrysomeloidea and Tenebrioroidea belonging to the infraorder Cucujiformia) by Bayesian inference, maximum-likelihood analysis, and maximum-parsimony analysis revealed a lack of strong support for monophyletic Elateriformia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mulberry white caterpillar,Rondotia menciana, belongs to the lepidopteran family Bombycidae, in which the domestic silkworm,Bombyx moriis included. In this study, we describe the complete mitochondrial genome ofR. mencianain terms of general genomic features and characteristic features found in the A+T-rich region. The 15,364 bp long genome consisted of a typical set of genes (13 protein-coding genes [PCGs], 2 rRNA genes, and 22 tRNA genes) and 1 major non-coding A+T-rich region, with the typical arrangement found in Lepidoptera. Twelve of the 13 PCGs started with typical ATN codons, except for the COI, which began with CGA and twelve of 13 PCGs had complete stop codons, except for the COII, which ended with a single T. The 360 bp long A+T-rich region harbored the conserved sequence blocks typically found in lepidopteran insects. Additionally, the A+T-rich region ofR. mencianacontained one tRNAMet-like structure, which had a proper anticodon and secondary structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We sequenced 17,329 bp of the black dwarf honey bee, Apis andreniformis (Hymenoptera: Apidae) mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) that lacked ∼200 bp of the A + T-rich region for the complete genomic sequence. The gene arrangement of the A. andreniformis mitogenome was identical to that of A. cerana. However, the genome contained five additional tRNALeu(CUN); four copies were located between tRNAMet and tRNAGln, and one copy was between tRNAGln and tRNAAla, along with the typical sets of genes (13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNAs, and 2 rRNAs) including regular tRNALeu(CUN) and the A + T-rich region (at least 923 bp). Only one copy of tRNALeu(CUN) differed by 1 bp from the other four copies of tRNALeu(CUN). Each additional tRNALeu(CUN) was followed by a nearly identical 68-bp long repeat sequence (95.6% identity). All 13 protein coding genes had typica start codons found in insect mitochondrial protein coding genes (two ATA, nine ATT and two ATG). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have completely sequenced the mitochondrial genome (mitogeome) of the two-spotted stag beetle, Metopodontus blanchardi, which is listed as a first-degree endangered species in Korea. The complete mitogenome of M. blanchardi was determined to be 21,628 bp, indicating at least 5 kb larger in size than typical animal mitogenomes. Such a long M. blanchardi genome stems from a 3100-bp long A + T-rich region and a 4051-bp long, large non-coding sequence located between tRNAIle and tRNAGln. The A + T-rich region is composed of duplicated repeat sequences (each 965 bp and 969 bp), and three non-repeat sequences encompassing the repeat sequences. The 4051-bp long non-coding sequence is composed of ∼17 tandem repeat sequences, each of which is composed of two subunits (113-bp and 104-bp long subunits) and this is encompassed by non-repeat sequences. The start codon for COI gene of M. blanchardi was designated as unconventional AAG (Lysine) by following a previous study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glyphodes quadrimaculalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) feed on a root tuber of Cynanchum wilfordii (Asclepiadaceae), which is one of the most famous traditional medicines in Korea. The genus Glyphodes includes ∼130 species distributed worldwide, so the complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) would be helpful for bio-identification, biogeographic studies and multigene-based phylogeny. The 15,255 bp long G. quadrimaculalis genome comprises 37 typical genes and 1 large non-coding region, with the typical arrangement found in Lepidoptera. Of the 13 protein coding genes (PCGs), 12 begin with typical start codons found in insect mitochondrial PCGs, but the COI gene starts with atypical CGA. One of the noteworthy features of the genome includes the presence of a 51-bp long non-coding space sequence located between tRNAGln and ND2 that reveals high-sequence homology (71.4%) to the neighboring ND2 gene, indicating the origin of the region by partial duplication of the ND2 gene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aquatic moth, Elophila interruptalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) belongs to the subfamily Nymphulinae, nearly all of which are aquatic in their entire larval and pupal stages. The 15,351-bp long complete mitogenome consisted of a typical set of genes (13 protein-coding genes, two rRNA genes and 22 tRNA genes) and one major non-coding A+T-rich region, with the typical arrangement found in the majority of Lepidoptera. One of the unusual features of the E. interruptalis mitogenome is the presence of a tRNAPhe-like sequence beyond the A+T-rich region. The sequence is encoded in the minor strand of the genome overlapping with the reversely encoded regular tRNAGlu by 65 bp. The sequence divergence of the tRNAPhe-like sequence to that of regular E. interruptalis tRNAPhe and other within-familial species was as low as 59% ∼ 71%, but has a proper folding structure with well-matched stems and identical anticodon sequences to the regular copy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The larch hawk moth, Sphinx morio, belongs to the lepidopteran family Sphingidae that has long been studied as a family of model insects in a diverse field. In this study, we describe the complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) sequences of the species in terms of general genomic features and characteristic short repetitive sequences found in the A+T-rich region. The 15,299-bp-long genome consisted of a typical set of genes (13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA genes, and 22 tRNA genes) and one major non-coding A+T-rich region, with the typical arrangement found in Lepidoptera. The 316-bp-long A+T-rich region located between srRNA and tRNAMet harbored the conserved sequence blocks that are typically found in lepidopteran insects. Additionally, the A+T-rich region of S. morio contained three characteristic repeat sequences that are rarely found in Lepidoptera: two identical 12-bp repeat, three identical 5-bp-long tandem repeat, and six nearly identical 5-6 bp long repeat sequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the 17,694-bp long complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of the dwarf honeybee, Apis florea (Hymenoptera: Apidae), was described, and a noteworthy triplicated tRNAser(AGN) region and an extraordinary long A+T-rich region with repeat regions were identified. The gene arrangement of A. florea mitogenome was identical to that of Apis mellifera, but it contained three tRNASer(AGN), each of which was preceded by a 44-bp-long repeat unit and followed by a 64-bp-long repeat unit plus one complete first repeat adjacent to tRNAMet. A total of 1610-bp long two repeat regions in 1987-bp long A+T-rich region were composed of nearly identical 141-219-bp long 5 tandem repeats and 50-52-bp long 12 tandem repeats that were encompassed by three non-repeat sequences. One potential explanation for this repeat sequence is slipped-strand mispairing and unequal crossing-over events during DNA replication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of the seven-spotted lady beetle, Coccinella septempunctata (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), which is one of the best known insects capable of predation, is described with an emphasis on the noteworthy composition of the A+T-rich region. The C. septempunctata genome consists of 2 rRNAs, 22 tRNAs, 13 protein-coding genes, and 1 control region, designated as the A+T-rich region in insects. Along with an unusually long A+T-rich region (4469 bp), the 18,965-bp long C. septempunctata mitogenome was the largest in Coleoptera. The A+T-rich region is composed of a 2214-bp long non-repeat region composed of 80.17% A/T nucleotides and a 2256-bp long repeat region composed of 65.71% A/T nucleotides. The repeat region harbors 32 identical 70-bp long tandem repeats plus one 15-bp long incomplete first repeat. These repeat sequences may possibly have been caused by slipped-strand mispairing and unequal crossing-over events during DNA replication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of the nerippe fritillary butterfly, Argynnis nerippe, which is listed as an endangered species in Korea, is described with an emphasis on the A++T-rich region. The 15,140-bp long circular molecule consisted of 13 protein-coding genes, two rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes and 1 control region, known in insect as the A++T-rich region, as found in typical metazoans. The 329-bp long A++T-rich region located between srRNA and tRNAMet possessed the highest A/T content (95.7%) than any other region of the genome. Along with the several conserved sequences found typically in the lepidopteran insects the genome contained one tRNAMet-like and tRNALeu(UUR)-like sequence in the A++T-rich region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we describe the complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) sequence of theActias alienabelonging to the lepidopteran family Saturniidae in terms of general genomic features and composition. The 15,243 bp long genome consisted of a typical set of genes (13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA genes and 22 tRNA genes) and 1 major non-coding A+T-rich region. TheA. alienamitogenome harbored the gene order tRNAMet, tRNAIleand tRNAGlnbetween the A+T-rich region and ND2, as shown in most lepidopteran species. The COI gene possessed the CGA initiator, which is found in nearly all lepidopterans lacking a canonical ATN initiator. Twenty-one tRNAs formed the cloverleaf secondary structures but tRNASer(AGN) formed a simple loop in the DHU arm. The 328 bp long A+T-rich region, which was located between the S rRNA and tRNAMetgenes, contained several Lepidoptera-specific sequences, such as the ATAGA motif, a poly-T stretch, an AT repeat, and a poly-A stretch, along with an unusual tRNAPhe-like structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complete nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial genome from the whiter-spotted flower chafer, Protaetia brevitarsis (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), was determined. The 20,319-bp long circular genome is the longest among completely sequenced Coleoptera. As is typical in animals, the P. brevitarsis genome consisted of two ribosomal RNAs, 22 transfer RNAs, 13 protein-coding genes and one A + T-rich region. Although the size of the coding genes was typical, the non-coding A + T-rich region was 5654 bp, which is the longest in insects. The extraordinary length of this region was composed of 28,117-bp tandem repeats and 782-bp tandem repeats. These repeat sequences were encompassed by three non-repeat sequences constituting 1804 bp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]