Complete mitochondrial genome of Cnidocampa flavescens (Lepidoptera: Limacodidae)

The complete mitochondrial genome of Choristoneura metasequoiacola Liu,1983 (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)

Choristoneura metasequoiacola Liu, 1983 is an important caterpillar species that specifically infests the leaves and branches of Metasequoia glyptostroboides Hu & W. C. Cheng 1948 with short larval infestations, long-term dormancy, and has a limited distribution in Lichuan, Hubei, China. The complete mitochondria genome of C. metasequoiacola was determined by using Illumina NovaSeq, and analyzed based on previously annotated sibling species. In total, we obtained mitochondria genome with 15,128 bp in length, circular in shape with a double-stranded closed ring structure, including 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes, and an AT-rich region. Of which the nucleotide composition was highly A + T biased, accounting for 81.98% of the whole mitogenome. Thirteen protein-coding genes (PCGs) were 11,142 bp; Twenty-two tRNA genes and AT-rich region were 1,472 and 199 bp, respectively. Phylogenetically, the relationship between Choristoneura spp. (containing C. metasequoiacola) and Adoxophyes spp. was closer than any other two genera from Tortricidae, and the relationship between C. metasequoiacola and C.murinana was the closest among nine sibling species from that genus, which helps to explain species evolution within the family Tortricidae.

Characterization of the complete mitochondrial genome of the tea slug moth, Iragoides fasciata (Lepidoptera: Limacodidae)

Moths of the family Limacodidae are major pests that damage tea trees, fruit trees, and forests. The complete mitochondrial genome of Iragoides fasciata (Lepidoptera: Limacodidae) was sequenced. The genome was found to be 15,645 bp in size (GenBank accession no. MK250437), including 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), two ribosomal RNA genes (rRNAs), 22 transfer RNA genes (tRNAs), and a 431 bp A + T-rich region. Nucleotide composition showed a total A + T content of 82.03% with significant AT-bias. All PCGs were found to start with ATN codons and use the canonical stop codons TAA or incomplete T, except for cox1, which was found to utilize CGA as a start codon. Phylogenetic relationships were based on the 13 PCGs with 24 moths, showing that I. fasciata is more closely related to other slug moths in the family Limacodidae.

The first mitochondrial genome for Phaudidae (Lepidoptera) with phylogenetic analyses of Zygaenoidea

Phauda flammans Walker belongs to Phaudidae (Lepidoptera), which is a holometabolous and leaf-eating pest that harms trees. So far, there is no mitochondrial (mt) genome reported of Phaudidae. Herein, we sequenced and annotated the complete mt genome of P. flammans representing the first mt genome of Phaudidae and predicted the secondary structures of its RNAs in this study. This mt genome is 15470 bp long consisting of 13 protein coding genes (PCGs), 22 tRNAs, 2 rRNAs and the control region, which are usually conserved in insects. Most PCGs used the standard ATN start codons and complete TAA/TAG termination codons. Almost all of tRNA genes exhibited cloverleaf secondary structures except that the dihydorouridine (DHU) arm of tRNA^Ser(AGN) was absent. The phylogenetic analyses using both Bayesian inference (BI) and maximum likelihood (ML) methods all supported that Phaudidae was a single family being the sister group to Zygaenidae. More mt genomes are needed to better understand the phylogenetic relationships within Zygaenoidea in the future.

The complete mitochondrial genome of Pidorus atratus (Lepidoptera: Zygaenoidea: Zygaenidae)

The complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of Pidorus atratus (Lepidoptera: Zygaenoidea: Zygaenidae) is described in this study. The circular molecule is 15,383 bp in length and contains 37 typical mitochondrial genes and one non-coding AT-rich region. All protein-coding genes (PCGs) start with ATN, except for cox1 gene with CGA; 10 of the 13 PCGs harbour the typical stop codon TAA, whereas cox1, cox2, and nad4 end with a single T. Two ribosomal RNA genes (rRNAs) are 1366 bp and 544 bp in length, respectively. The AT-rich region is 658 bp in size and harbours several features characteristic of the lepidopterans, including the motif ATAGA followed by a 20 bp poly-T stretch and a microsatellite-like (TA)9 element. The complete mitogenome data would be useful for further understanding the taxonomy and phylogeny of Zygaenoidea.