The F type mitochondrial genome of the scorched mussel:Brachidontes exustus, (Mytiloida, Mytilidae)

Mitochondrial genomic analyses provide new insights into the "missing" atp8 and adaptive evolution of Mytilidae

Background

Mytilidae, also known as marine mussels, are widely distributed in the oceans worldwide. Members of Mytilidae show a tremendous range of ecological adaptions, from the species distributed in freshwater to those that inhabit in deep-sea. Mitochondria play an important role in energy metabolism, which might contribute to the adaptation of Mytilidae to different environments. In addition, some bivalve species are thought to lack the mitochondrial protein-coding gene ATP synthase F0 subunit 8. Increasing studies indicated that the absence of atp8 may be caused by annotation difficulties for atp8 gene is characterized by highly divergent, variable length.

Results

In this study, the complete mitochondrial genomes of three marine mussels (Xenostrobus securis, Bathymodiolus puteoserpentis, Gigantidas vrijenhoeki) were newly assembled, with the lengths of 14,972 bp, 20,482, and 17,786 bp, respectively. We annotated atp8 in the sequences that we assembled and the sequences lacking atp8. The newly annotated atp8 sequences all have one predicted transmembrane domain, a similar hydropathy profile, as well as the C-terminal region with positively charged amino acids. Furthermore, we reconstructed the phylogenetic trees and performed positive selection analysis. The results showed that the deep-sea bathymodiolines experienced more relaxed evolutionary constraints. And signatures of positive selection were detected in nad4 of Limnoperna fortunei, which may contribute to the survival and/or thriving of this species in freshwater.

Conclusions

Our analysis supported that atp8 may not be missing in the Mytilidae. And our results provided evidence that the mitochondrial genes may contribute to the adaptation of Mytilidae to different environments.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12864-022-08940-8.

No evidence of DUI in the Mediterranean alien species Brachidontes pharaonis (P. Fisher, 1870) despite mitochondrial heteroplasmy

Two genetically different mitochondrial haplogroups of Brachidontes pharaonis (p-distance 6.8%) have been identified in the Mediterranean Sea. This hinted at a possible presence of doubly uniparental inheritance in this species. To ascertain this possibility, we sequenced two complete mitogenomes of Brachidontes pharaonis mussels and performed a qPCR analysis to measure the relative mitogenome copy numbers of both mtDNAs. Despite the presence of two very similar regions composed entirely of repetitive sequences in the two haplogroups, no recombination between mitogenomes was detected. In heteroplasmic individuals, both mitogenomes were present in the generative tissues of both sexes, which argues against the presence of doubly uniparental inheritance in this species.

A mitochondrial genome phylogeny of Mytilidae (Bivalvia: Mytilida)

The family Mytilidae is a family of bivalve mussels that are distributed worldwide in diverse marine habitats. Within the family, classification systems and phylogenetic relationships among subfamilies remain not yet fully resolved. In this study, we newly determined 9 mitochondrial genome sequences from 7 subfamilies: Bathymodiolus thermophilus (Bathymodiolinae), Modiolus nipponicus (Modiolinae), Lithophaga curta (the first representative of Lithophaginae), Brachidontes mutabilis (Brachidontinae), Mytilisepta virgata (Brachidontinae), Mytilisepta keenae (Brachidontinae), Crenomytilus grayanus (Mytilinae), Gregariella coralliophaga (Crenellinae), and Septifer bilocularis (the first representative of Septiferinae). Phylogenetic trees using maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference methods for 28 mitochondrial genomes (including 19 previously published sequences) showed two major clades with high support values: Clade 1 ((Bathymodiolinae + Modiolinae) + (Lithophaginae + Limnoperninae)) and Clade 2 (((Mytilinae + Crenellinae) + Septiferinae) + Brachidontinae). The position of the genus Lithophaga (representing Lithophaginae) differed from a previously published molecular phylogeny. Divergence time analysis with a molecular clock indicated that lineage splitting among the major subfamilies of Mytilidae (including the habitat transition from marine to freshwater environments by ancestral Limnoperninae) occurred in the Mesozoic period, coinciding with high diversification rates of marine fauna during that time. This is the first mitochondrial genome-based phylogenetic study of the Mytilidae that covers nearly all subfamily members, excluding the subfamily Dacrydiinae.

Updated mitochondrial phylogeny of Pteriomorph and Heterodont Bivalvia, including deep-sea chemosymbiotic Bathymodiolus mussels, vesicomyid clams and the thyasirid clam Conchocele cf. bisecta

The mitochondrial genomes of bivalves have often been used for comparative genomics and for resolving phylogenetic relationships. More than 100 bivalve complete mitochondrial genomes have been sequenced to date. However, few mitochondrial genomes have been reported for deep-sea chemosymbiotic bivalves, which belong to the subclasses Pteriomorphia and Heterodonta. In the present study, we sequenced the mitochondrial genomes of eight deep-sea chemosymbiotic bivalve species: three species of Bathymodiolus mussels (B. japonicus, B. platifrons, and B. septemdierum), four species of vesicomyid clams (Abyssogena mariana, A. phaseoliformis, Isorropodon fossajaponicum, and Phreagena okutanii, all of which were formerly classified in the genus Calyptogena), and one species of thyasirid clam (Conchocele cf. bisecta). With a few exceptions, these mitochondrial genomes contained genes that are typical of metazoans: 13 protein-coding genes, two rRNA genes, and 22 tRNA genes. The major non-coding region with a high A+T content of each genome, which contained tandem repeats and hairpins, was hypothesized to function as a control region. The phylogenetic trees of Pteriomorphia and Heterodonta were reconstructed based on the concatenated sequences of 14 shared genes. Bathymodiolus formed a monophyletic clade with asymbiotic Mytilidae mussels, the vesicomyid clams formed a monophyly that was sister to the Veneridae, and C. cf. bisecta branched basally in the Heterodonta. It is known that the gene orders of mitochondrial genomes vary among bivalves. To examine whether gene order variation exhibits phylogenetic signals, tree topologies based on the minimum number of gene rearrangements were reconstructed for two clades (superfamily Tellinoidea, which includes the Psammobiidae, Semelidae, Solecurtidae, and Tellinidae; and the clade comprising the Myidae, Mactridae, Arcticidae, Vesicomyidae, and Veneridae) with high statistical support in sequence-based phylogenies. The resulting tree topologies were almost identical to those of the sequence-based trees. Our present findings suggest that the evolution of bivalves could be precisely traced back through the analysis of mitochondrial genomes, and that such an analysis could contribute to understanding bivalve evolution and diversity.