Abstract
The complete mitochondrial genome sequences of the two butterfly species Euploea mulciber (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Danainae) and Libythea celtis (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Libytheinae) were determined in this study, comprising 15,166 bp and 15,164 bp, respectively. The orientation and the gene order of the two mitogenomes are identical to those of most of the other lepidopteran species. All protein-coding genes of Euploea mulciber and Libythea celtis mitogenomes start with a typical ATN codon with the exception of COI gene which uses CGA as its initial codon. All tRNA genes possess the typical cloverleaf secondary structure except for tRNASer (AGN), which has a simple loop with the absence of the DHU stem. There are short microsatellite-like repeat regions, but no conspicuous macrorepeats scattered throughout the A + T-rich regions. Phylogenetic analysis among the available butterfly species suggests that Libythea celtis (Libytheinae) is closely related to Calinaga davidis (Calinaginae), indicating that the subfamily Libytheinae may not represent a basal lineage of the Nymphalidae as previously suggested, and that Euploea mulciber stands at the base of the nymphalid tree as a sister to all other nymphalids.
Highlights
The animal mitochondrial genome is a circular molecule of 15–20 kb in length
protein-coding genes (PCGs) and ribosomal RNA genes (rRNAs) were identified by sequence comparison using ClustalX1.8 software and the NCBI Internet BLAST search function [27]. transfer RNA genes (tRNAs) gene analysis was conducted using tRNAscan-SE software v.1.21 [28], and the putative tRNAs, which were not found by tRNAscan-SE, were confirmed by sequence comparison of Euploea mulciber and Libythea celtis with other lepidopterans
The genetic distances were calculated based on selected sequence evolutionary models; the neighbor joining (NJ) [30] and Bayesian inference (BI) [31] phylogenetic trees were reconstructed based on the PCG sequences using one moth species, Lymantria dispar
Summary
The animal mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) is a circular molecule of 15–20 kb in length It contains 37 conserved genes including 22 transfer RNA genes (tRNAs), 2 ribosomal RNA genes (rRNAs), and 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs) involved in electron transport and oxidative phosphorylation [1, 2]. In China, Chou’s taxonomic system [9] is widely adopted, in which the Chinese butterflies are split into 12 families and 32 subfamilies based on their morphological characteristics Another taxonomic system proposed by Wahlberg et al (2005) [10], which is followed has been commonly accepted by most butterfly researchers. The complete mitogenomes of the two representative nymphalid species mentioned previously were determined and compared with other butterflies available, in order to provide more information for the phylogenetic studies of lepidopterans and further clarify their taxonomic status within the family Nymphalidae at the mitogenomic level
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