Complete mitochondrial genome of Atractomorpha sagittaris (Orthoptera: Pyrgomorphidae) and its phylogenetic analysis for Acrididea

The Complete Mitogenomes of Three Grasshopper Species with Special Notes on the Phylogenetic Positions of Some Related Genera

Clarifying phylogenetic position and reconstructing robust phylogeny of groups using various evidences are an eternal theme for taxonomy and systematics. In this study, the complete mitogenomes of Longzhouacris mirabilis, Ranacris albicornis, and Conophyma zhaosuensis were sequenced using next-generation sequencing (NGS), and the characteristics of the mitogenomes are presented briefly. The mitogenomes of the three species are all circular molecules with total lengths of 16,164 bp, 15,720 bp, and 16,190 bp, respectively. The gene structures and orders, as well as the characteristics of the mitogenomes, are similar to those of other published mitogenomes in Caelifera. The phylogeny of the main subfamilies of Acrididae with prosternal process was reconstructed using a selected dataset of mitogenome sequences under maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian inference (BI) frameworks. The results showed that the genus Emeiacris consistently fell into the subfamily Melanoplinae rather than Oxyinae, and the genus Choroedocus had the closest relationship with Shirackiacris of the subfamily Eyprepocnemidinae in both phylogenetic trees deduced from mitogenome protein coding genes (PCGs). This finding is entirely consistent with the morphological characters, which indicate that Emeiacris belongs to Melanoplinae and Choroedocus belongs to Eyprepocnemidinae. In addition, the genera Conophymacris and Xiangelilacris, as well as Ranacris and Menglacris, are two pairs of the closest relatives, but their phylogenetic positions need further study to clarify.

The complete mitochondrial genome of Coccotorusbeijingensis Lin et Li, 1990 (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Curculioninae, Anthonomini) and its phylogenetic implications

Coccotorusbeijingensis Lin et Li, 1990 belongs to Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Curculioninae, Anthonomini. It is a herbivorous insect that damages Celtisbungeana Blume (Ulmaceae) by affecting branch growth. The mitochondrial genome of C.beijingensis was sequenced and annotated to better identify C.beijingensis and related species. The total length of the C.beijingensis mitochondrial genome was 17,071 bp, contained 37 typical genes (13 protein-coding genes, two ribosomal RNA genes, 22 transfer RNA genes) and two control regions (total length: 2,292 bp). Mitochondrial genome composition, nucleotide composition and codon usage are similar to those of other sequenced Curculionidae mitogenomes. All protein-coding genes initiated with ATN and TTG codons and ended with TAA, TAG or incomplete stop codons (TA, T). In addition, analyses of pairwise genetic distances between individual PCGs in Curculionidae species showed that ATP8 was the least conserved gene, while COI was the most conserved. Twenty-one transfer RNAs had typical cloverleaf structures, while trnS1 lacked dihydrouridine (DHU) arms. ML and BI analyses, based on 13 PCGs and two rRNAs from ten species of Curculionidae, strongly support the relationships between C.beijingensis and species of the genus Anthonomus: ((An.eugenii+ An.rubi) + C.beijingensis + (An.pomorum+ An.rectirostris)) (BS = 100; PP = 1). Our phylogenetic analyses could mean that the genus Coccotorus should be sunk under Anthonomus, but more taxon sampling is needed to verify this result.

Characterization of the complete mitogenome of brown-spotted locust, Cyrtacanthacris tatarica (Orthoptera: Acrididae: Cyrtacanthacridinae)

The complete mitochondrial genome of Cyrtacanthacris tatarica was firstly sequenced and analyzed. The circular mitogenome was 15,679 bp long, showing a bias of AT rich on the majority strand (42.34% of A, 29.99% of T, 11.19% of G, and 16.18% of C). It consisted of the typical 37 genes (13 protein-coding genes, two ribosomal RNA genes, and 22 transfer tRNA genes) and one longest non-coding region (called as control region). All PCGs used standard ATN initiation codons, and most PCGs were terminated with complete codons (TAA/TAG), apart from cox1 and nad5. Phylogenetic analyses based on the concatenated nucleotide sequences of PCGs supported that Cyrtacanthacridinae was monophyletic, and the sister group relationship between C. tatarica and Schistocerca gregaria gregaria was determined. Our results may provide molecular information for the genetic evolution and taxonomy of the acridid species.

The complete mitochondrial genome of Sinopodisma hengshanica (Orthoptera: Acrididae) and its phylogenetic implication

The complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of Sinopodisma hengshanica (Orthoptera: Acrididae) was firstly determined and analyzed in the present study. Assembled mitogenome sequence of S. hengshanica is 15,623 bp in size, containing 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), two ribosomal RNA genes (rRNAs), 22 transfer RNA genes (tRNAs), as well as one A + T-rich region. Its gene component and arrangement are identical with other Acrididae species. The overall nucleotide composition is as follows: A (42.89%), G (10.34%), T (33.07%), and C (13.70%). All PCGs are initiated by typical ATN codons, and terminated with harboring complete stop codons TAA and TAG. Furthermore, phylogenetic trees were reconstructed based on 13 PCGs to validate the taxonomic status of S. hengshanica, exhibiting a close relationship with Sinopodisma rostellocerca.

Phylogenetic Position of the Genus Alulacris (Orthoptera: Acrididae: Melanoplinae: Podismini) Revealed by Complete Mitogenome Evidence

Whole mitogenomes are a useful data source for a wide variety of research goals due to the vastly cheaper sequencing cost and the far less demanding high-quality templates. The mitogenome has demonstrated great potential in resolving phylogenetic questions in Orthoptera at different taxonomic scales as well as exploring patterns of molecular and morphological character evolutions. In this study, the complete mitogenome of Alulacrisshilinensis (Zheng, 1977) was sequenced using next-generation sequencing, the characteristics of the mitogenome are presented briefly, and the phylogeny of the Melanoplinae and Catantopinae was reconstructed using a selected dataset of mitogenome sequences under maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference frameworks. The results show that the genus was consistently assigned to the subfamily Melanoplinae rather than Catantopinae in all phylogenetic trees deduced from different datasets under different frameworks, and this finding is entirely consistent with its morphological characters. Therefore, it is more appropriate to place the genus Alulacris in Melanoplinae rather than in Catantopinae.