Abstract
The typical insect mitochondrial (mt) genome organization, which contains a single chromosome with 37 genes, was found in the infraorder Pentatomomorpha (suborder Heteroptera). The arrangement of mt genes in these true bugs is usually the same as the ancestral mt gene arrangement of insects. Rearrangement of transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, however, has been found in two subfamilies of flat bugs (Mezirinae and Calisiinae, family Aradidae). In this study, we sequenced the complete mt genomes of four species from three other subfamilies (Aradinae, Carventinae and Aneurinae). We found tRNA gene rearrangement in all of these four species. All of the rearranged tRNA genes are located between the mitochondrial control region and cox1, indicating this region as a hotspot for gene rearrangement in flat bugs; the rearrangement is likely caused by events of tandem duplication and random deletion of genes. Furthermore, our phylogenetic and dating analyses indicated that the swap of positions between trnQ and trnI occurred ~162 million years ago (MYA) in the most recent common ancestor of the five subfamilies of flat bugs investigated to date, whereas the swap of positions between trnC and trnW occurred later in the lineage leading to Calisiinae, and the translocation of trnC and trnY occurred later than 134 MYA in the lineage leading to Aradinae.
Highlights
The ancestral mt gene arrangement of insects is retained in most species of the fourth paraneopteran order, Hemiptera[15,16,17,18]; gene rearrangement has been found in the suborder Sternorrhyncha[19,20]
Our results indicated that mt transfer RNA (tRNA) gene rearrangement in flat bugs was driven by events of tandem duplication and random deletion near the control region. trnQ and trnI swapped their positions in the most recent common ancestor of the five subfamilies of flat bugs ~162 million years ago (MYA); later, trnC and trnW swapped their positions in the lineage leading to the subfamily Calisiinae whereas trnC and trnY were translocated in the lineage leading to the subfamily Aradinae later than 134 MYA
The mt genomes of the seven flat bugs range from 15,168 bp (Libiocoris heissi) to 16,814 bp (Aradus compar) in length
Summary
The ancestral mt gene arrangement of insects is retained in most species of the fourth paraneopteran order, Hemiptera[15,16,17,18]; gene rearrangement has been found in the suborder Sternorrhyncha (i.e. whiteflies)[19,20]. The mt genomes of three flat bugs have been sequenced, representing two subfamilies: Neuroctenus parus and Brachyrhynchus hsiaoi from the subfamily Mezirinae[22,24], and Aradacanthia heissi from the subfamily Calisiinae[23]. All of these three species have tRNA gene rearrangement near the control region in their mt genomes. We compared the mt gene arrangement among the seven species of flat bugs from five subfamilies of the Aradidae. Our results indicated that mt tRNA gene rearrangement in flat bugs was driven by events of tandem duplication and random deletion near the control region. trnQ and trnI swapped their positions in the most recent common ancestor of the five subfamilies of flat bugs ~162 million years ago (MYA); later, trnC and trnW swapped their positions in the lineage leading to the subfamily Calisiinae whereas trnC and trnY were translocated in the lineage leading to the subfamily Aradinae later than 134 MYA
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