The complete mitochondrial genome of Aporrectodea rosea (Annelida: Lumbricidae)

Complete mitochondrial genome of the composting worm Dendrobaena veneta (Clitellata: Oligochaeta, Lumbricidae)

Dendrobaena veneta (Rosa, 1886) is widely distributed all over Europe due to its use as compost worm. The specimen presented here was collected in Tiranë district, Albania. Currently, only two species' complete or nearly complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) sequences have been reported in the genus Dendrobaena; D. octaedra (Savigny, 1826) and D. tellermanica Perel, 1966. In this study, the complete mitogenome of D. veneta was sequenced, assembled, and annotated. The mitogenome of D. veneta is a circular DNA molecule, consisting of 15,475 bp with an A + T content of 61.2%. It contains 13 protein-coding genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, and 1 non-coding region (control region). Phylogenetic analysis showed that D. veneta is clustered with the other two Dendrobaena species in the well-supported family Lumbricidae.

Mitochondrial Genome Evolution in Annelida-A Systematic Study on Conservative and Variable Gene Orders and the Factors Influencing its Evolution

The mitochondrial genomes of Bilateria are relatively conserved in their protein-coding, rRNA, and tRNA gene complement, but the order of these genes can range from very conserved to very variable depending on the taxon. The supposedly conserved gene order of Annelida has been used to support the placement of some taxa within Annelida. Recently, authors have cast doubts on the conserved nature of the annelid gene order. Various factors may influence gene order variability including, among others, increased substitution rates, base composition differences, structure of noncoding regions, parasitism, living in extreme habitats, short generation times, and biomineralization. However, these analyses were neither done systematically nor based on well-established reference trees. Several focused on only a few of these factors and biological factors were usually explored ad-hoc without rigorous testing or correlation analyses. Herein, we investigated the variability and evolution of the annelid gene order and the factors that potentially influenced its evolution, using a comprehensive and systematic approach. The analyses were based on 170 genomes, including 33 previously unrepresented species. Our analyses included 706 different molecular properties, 20 life-history and ecological traits, and a reference tree corresponding to recent improvements concerning the annelid tree. The results showed that the gene order with and without tRNAs is generally conserved. However, individual taxa exhibit higher degrees of variability. None of the analyzed life-history and ecological traits explained the observed variability across mitochondrial gene orders. In contrast, the combination and interaction of the best-predicting factors for substitution rate and base composition explained up to 30% of the observed variability. Accordingly, correlation analyses of different molecular properties of the mitochondrial genomes showed an intricate network of direct and indirect correlations between the different molecular factors. Hence, gene order evolution seems to be driven by molecular evolutionary aspects rather than by life history or ecology. On the other hand, variability of the gene order does not predict if a taxon is difficult to place in molecular phylogenetic reconstructions using sequence data or not. We also discuss the molecular properties of annelid mitochondrial genomes considering canonical views on gene evolution and potential reasons why the canonical views do not always fit to the observed patterns without making some adjustments. [Annelida; compositional biases; ecology; gene order; life history; macroevolution; mitochondrial genomes; substitution rates.].

The mitochondrial genome of Dendrobaena tellermanica Perel, 1966 (Annelida: Lumbricidae) and its phylogenetic position

Earthworms are an important ecological group that has a significant impact on soil fauna as well as plant communities. Despite their importance, genetic diversity and phylogeny of earthworms are still insufficiently studied. Most studies on earthworm genetic diversity are currently based on a few mitochondrial and nuclear genes. Mitochondrial genomes are becoming a promising target for phylogeny reconstruction in earthworms. However, most studies on earthworm mitochondrial genomes were made on West European and East Asian species, with much less sampling from other regions. In this study, we performed sequencing, assembly, and analysis of the mitochondrial genome of Dendrobaena tellermanica Perel, 1966 from the Northern Caucasus. This species was earlier included into D. schmidti (Michaelsen, 1907), a polytypic species with many subspecies. The genome was assembled as a single contig 15,298 bp long which contained a typical gene set: 13 protein-coding genes (three subunits of cytochrome c oxidase, seven subunits of NADH dehydrogenase, two subunits of ATP synthetase, and cytochrome b), 12S and 16S ribosomal RNA genes, and 22 tRNA genes. All genes were located on one DNA strand. The assembled part of the control region, located between the tRNA-Arg and tRNA-His genes, was 727 bp long. The control region contained multiple hairpins, as well as tandem repeats of the AACGCTT monomer. Phylogenetic analysis based on the complete mitochondrial genomes indicated that the genus Dendrobaena occupied the basal position within Lumbricidae. D. tellermanica was a rather distant relative of the cosmopolitan D. octaedra, suggesting high genetic diversity in this genus. D. schmidti turned out to be paraphyletic with respect to D. tellermanica. Since D. schmidti is known to contain very high genetic diversity, these results may indicate that it may be split into several species.

The complete mitochondrial DNA sequences of two sibling species of lumbricid earthworms, Eiseniafetida (Savigny, 1826) and Eiseniaandrei (Bouché, 1972) (Annelida, Crassiclitellata): comparison of mitogenomes and phylogenetic positioning

Composting earthworms of the genus Eisenia play an important role in soil ecosystems. However, taxonomic classification of this genus, especially the sibling species Eiseniafetida and Eiseniaandrei, is complicated because of their morphological similarity. In this study, we assessed the utility of the complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) for identification and differentiation of the two species. The complete mitogenomes of E.andrei and E.fetida were 15,714 and 16,560 bp, respectively. They contained 37 genes, comprising 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), two rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes, and a putative non-coding region, as observed in other earthworms. Sequence comparisons based on the complete nucleotide sequences excluding the non-coding region showed 85.8% similarity, whereas the predicted amino acid sequences of the 13 PCGs were 92.7% similar between the two species. In particular, distinct features were found in the non-coding regions of the mitogenomes. They include a control region associated with putative mitogenome replication and an extended sequence. The extended sequence showed significant differences between the two species and other known earthworm species, suggesting its potential as a feasible molecular marker for species identification. Phylogenetic analysis of the 36 mitogenomes of earthworm species corroborated the monophyly of the genus Eisenia and the taxonomic distinctness of the sibling species pair, E.fetida and E.andrei.

The complete mitochondrial genome sequences of Japanese earthworms Metaphire hilgendorfi and Amynthas yunoshimensis (Clitellata: Megascolecidae)

Many studies have reported the complete mitochondrial genome sequences of Chinese Megascolecidae earthworms, however, there have been no reports on sequences originating from Japanese Megascolecidae earthworms. In this study, we determined complete mitochondrial genome sequences of two Japanese earthworms belonging to the Pheretima complex within the Megascolecidae family. Metaphire hilgendorfi is one of the most common earthworms in Japan and Amynthas yunoshimensis was found to be morphologically similar to M. hilgendorfi. The complete mitochondrial genomes of M. hilgendorfi (15,186 bp; LC573968) and A. yunoshimensis (15,109 bp; LC573969) contained typical 13 protein coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, and 2 rRNA genes. The phylogenetic analysis revealed that these two species were sister species. Therefore, our findings will further contribute to phylogenetic and genetic diversity analyses of Megascolecidae earthworms.

Characterization of the complete mitochondrial genome of Drawida gisti (Metagynophora, Moniligastridae) and comparison with other Metagynophora species

Here, the complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of Drawida gisti was sequenced and compared with the mitogenomes of other Metagynophora species. The circular mitogenome was 14,648 bp in length and contained two ribosomal RNA genes (rRNAs), 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), and 22 transfer RNA genes (tRNAs). The types of constitutive genes and the direction of the coding strand that appeared in Drawida mitogenome were identical to those observed in other Metagynophora species, except for a missing lengthy non-coding region. The conservative relationships between Drawida species were supported by the overall analyses of 13 PCGs, two rRNAs, and 22 tRNAs. A comparison of the Metagynophora mitogenomes revealed that the ATP8 gene possessed the highest polymorphism among the 13 PCGs and two rRNAs. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that the Moniligastridae contained Drawida, which is a primitive Metagynophora group. Our study provides a step forward toward elucidating the evolutionary linkages within Drawida and even Metagynophora.