The mitochondrial genome and phylogenetic characteristics of the Thick-billed Green-Pigeon, Treron curvirostra: the first sequence for the genus

Mitochondrial genome of the critically endangered Baer's Pochard, Aythya baeri, and its phylogenetic relationship with other Anatidae species

Historically, the diving duck, Baer’s Pochard (Aythya baeri) was widely distributed in East and South Asia, but according to a recent estimate, its global population is now less than 1000 individuals. To date, the mitochondrial genome of A. baeri has not been deposited and is not available in GenBank. Therefore, we aimed to sequence the complete mitochondrial genome of this species. The genome was 16,623 bp in length, double stranded, circular in shape, and contained 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, two rRNA genes, and one non-coding control region. Many structural and compositional similarities were discovered between A. baeri and the other three Aythya mitochondrial genomes. Among 13 protein-coding genes of the four Aythya species, the fastest-evolving gene was ATP8 while the slowest-evolving gene was COII. Furthermore, the phylogenetic tree of Anatidae based on Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood methods showed that the relationships among 15 genera of the Anatidae family were as follows: Dendrocygna was an early diverging lineage that was fairly distant from the other ingroup taxa; Cygnus, Branta, and Anser were clustered into one branch that corresponded to the Anserinae subfamily; and Aythya, Asarcornis, Netta, Anas, Mareca, Mergus, Lophodytes, Bucephala, Tadorna, Cairina, and Aix were clustered into another branch that corresponded to the Anatinae subfamily. Our target species and three other Aythya species formed a monophyletic group. These results provide new mitogenomic information to support further phylogenetic and taxonomic studies and genetic conservation of Anatidae species.

Characterization of the complete mitochondrial genome of Myrmuslateralis (Heteroptera, Rhopalidae) and its implication for phylogenetic analyses

Mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) are widely used in research studies on phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary history. Here, we sequenced and analyzed the mitogenome of the scentless plant bug Myrmuslateralis Hsiao, 1964 (Heteroptera, Rhopalidae). The complete 17,309 bp genome encoded 37 genes, including 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, two ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, and a control region. The mitogenome revealed a high A+T content (75.8%), a positive AT-skew (0.092), and a negative GC-skew (-0.165). All 13 PCGs were found to start with ATN codons, except for cox1, in which TTG was the start codon. The Ka/Ks ratios of 13 PCGs were all lower than 1, indicating that purifying selection evolved in these genes. All tRNAs could be folded into the typical cloverleaf secondary structure, except for trnS1 and trnV, which lack dihydrouridine arms. Phylogenetic trees were constructed and analyzed based on the PCG+rRNA from 38 mitogenomes, using maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference methods, showed that M.lateralis and Chorosomamacilentum Stål, 1858 grouped together in the tribe Chorosomatini. In addition, Coreoidea and Pyrrhocoroidea were sister groups among the superfamilies of Trichophora, and Rhopalidae was a sister group to Alydidae + Coreidae.