Complete mitochondrial genome of the European common barnacle Perforatus perforatus Bruguière, 1789 (balanomorpha: balanidae).

This study is the first to sequence the complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of Perforatus perforatus Bruguière, 1789 (Balanomorpha: Balanidae). The 15,536-bp long P. perforatus mitogenome contained a typical set of animal mitochondrial genes, along with one control region. The P. perforatus mitogenome had an inverted gene block (trnP-ND4L-ND4-trnH-ND5-trnF) between trnS(gct) and trnT. This inverted gene block had been detected six species in three subfamilies of the Balanidae family (Balaninae, Acastinae and Megabalaninae), but our results show that it is also present in Concavinae, in which P. perforatus is included. The phylogenetic tree based on the concatenated sequences of the 13 protein-coding genes and two rRNA genes showed that P. perforatus is closely associated with Acasta sulcate and Balanus trigonus within Balanidae.

The first complete mitochondrial genome in the family Attevidae (Attevaaurea) of the order Lepidoptera.

The superfamily Yponomeutoidea, one of the early-derived groups in the order Lepidoptera, consists of 11 families. However, mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) sequences, popularly used for phylogeny and evolutionary tracing, are available for only seven species across six genera and five families. Thus, a larger variety of mitogenome sequences in Yponomeutoidea are required to improve our understanding of lepidopteran phylogeny and genomic evolution. In this study, we present the complete mitogenome of Attevaaurea (Fitch, 1856), the first species in the family Attevidae (superfamily Yponomeutoidea, order Lepidoptera) to be sequenced. The complete mitogenome comprises 16,329 bp and contains a typical set of genes and one non-coding region. Within Yponomeutoidea, the mitogenome of A.aurea has a unique trnI-trnM-trnQ arrangement at the A + T-rich region and ND2 junction and trnA-ND3 arrangement at the trnG and trnR junction. Twelve of the 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs) of A.aurea have a typical ATN starting codon, whereas COI has the atypical CGA codon, which is frequently found in the starting region of lepidopteran COI. Phylogenetic analyses, based on the concatenated sequences of 13 PCGs and two rRNA genes, using the Maximum Likelihood method, revealed a sister relationship between Attevidae and Praydidae with moderately low nodal support (bootstrap support = 64%).

Complete Mitochondrial Genomes of Metcalfa pruinosa and Salurnis marginella (Hemiptera: Flatidae): Genomic Comparison and Phylogenetic Inference in Fulgoroidea.

The complete mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) of two DNA barcode-defined haplotypes of Metcalfa pruinosa and one of Salurnis marginella (Hemiptera: Flatidae) were sequenced and compared to those of other Fulgoroidea species. Furthermore, the mitogenome sequences were used to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships among fulgoroid families. The three mitogenomes, including that of the available species of Flatidae, commonly possessed distinctive structures in the 1702-1836 bp A+T-rich region, such as two repeat regions at each end and a large centered nonrepeat region. All members of the superfamily Fulgoroidea, including the Flatidae, consistently possessed a motiflike sequence (TAGTA) at the ND1 and trnS2 junction. The phylogenetic analyses consistently recovered the familial relationships of (((((Ricaniidae + Issidae) + Flatidae) + Fulgoridae) + Achilidae) + Derbidae) in the amino acid-based analysis, with the placement of Cixiidae and Delphacidae as the earliest-derived lineages of fulgoroid families, whereas the monophyly of Delphacidae was not congruent between tree-constructing algorithms.

Tracing the Invasion and Expansion Characteristics of the Flatid Planthopper, Metcalfa pruinosa (Hemiptera: Flatidae), in Korea Using Mitochondrial DNA Sequences.

The flatid planthopper, Metcalfa pruinosa (Hemiptera: Flatidae), which is an invasive species, is widespread in Korea. We sequenced a fragment of the COI from 536 individuals collected mainly in Korea and the European countries and combined these sequence data with the public data, totaling 830 individuals worldwide. The identification of one shared haplotype only between Korea and the USA, the presence of this haplotype only in the North-West region of Korea, and the highest haplotype diversity in this region suggested that the North-West region is another point of entry in addition to the South-East region, which is the presumed sole point of entry to Korea. Furthermore, it suggested that North-West entry involves the M. pruinosa originating from the USA. In an effort to find further variable regions in the mitochondrial genome, one region provided substantially increased variability compared to that of the fragment of COI. F ST estimation, PCoA, and BAPS analysis, using the concatenated sequences of COI and the newly detected variable region to infer the expansion pattern in Korea, indicates that the main highway, running obliquely between the North-West and South-East regions, appears to be responsible for the current population genetic structure of M. pruinosa in Korea, facilitating gene flow through this highway traffic.

The mitochondrial genome of the dung beetle, Copris tripartitus, with mitogenomic comparisons within Scarabaeidae (Coleoptera).

We sequenced the complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of the dung beetle, Copris tripartitus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae); the sequence of this mitogenome had not been previously reported for this genus and tribe (Coprini). The mitogenome had the trnP-trnT arrangement at the ND4L-ND6 junction, which is found in only two species among the 56 available Scarabaeoidea species, including C. tripartitus. Twelve protein-coding genes (PCGs) had the typical ATT and ATG start codons, whereas COII gene had the GTA start codon, which is unusual in Scarabaeoidea. Phylogenetic analysis of the 32 species within the Scarabaeidae strongly supported the Onthophagini as non-monophyletic group. Coprini, the newly included tribe within Scarabaeinae, which includes C. tripartitus, was positioned at the most basal lineage of all the tribes included in Scarabaeinae, such as Oniticellini, Onthophagini, Onitini, Dichotomiini, Phanaeini, and Eurysternini with the highest nodal supports when amino acid sequences of 13 PCGs were used. However, analyses based on the nucleotide sequences of two RNAs and 13 PCGs placed Coprini as a sister tribe to the group composed of Dichotomiini, Phanaeini, and Eurysternini with lower nodal supports (ML, 55%; BI, 0.53). Although different datasets provided a conflicting result, higher nodal supports were obtained by amino acid sequence-based analyses.

Development and economic analysis of bioethanol production facilities using lignocellulosic biomass.

An integrated process for bioethanol production from Miscanthus sacchariflorus was used to construct a bench-scale plant constructed and an economic analysis was carried out to investigate the feasibility of its application to a commercial plant. The bench-scale plant was operated for 1 month and an economic analysis and sensitivity analysis was performed on the data acquired. In this study, 100,000 kL of bioethanol could be produced annually from 606,061 tons of M. sacchariflorus and the production cost was calculated to be US$1.76/L. However, the by-products of this process such as xylose molasses and lignin can be sold or used as a heat source, which can decrease the ethanol production costs. Therefore, the final ethanol production cost was calculated to be US$1.31/L, and is considerably influenced by the enzyme cost. The results and data obtained should contribute to the development of a commercial-scale lignocellulosic bioethanol plant.

Complete mitochondrial genome of Acropteris iphiata (Lepidoptera: Uraniidae).

Acropteris iphiata belongs to the family Uraniidae in the superfamily Geometroidea (Lepidoptera). We sequenced 15,346-bp long complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of the species, which consists of a typical set of genes (13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA genes, and 22 tRNA genes) and one major non-coding A + T-rich region. The A. iphiata mitogenome harbored the gene order tRNAMet, tRNAIle, and tRNAGln between the A + T-rich region and ND2 that is found in most lepidopteran mitogenomes. Bayesian inference (BI) and maximum likelihood (ML) phylogeny, using 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs) and 2 rRNAs showed that A. iphiata was placed as a sister to Geometridae with the highest nodal support (Bayesian posterior probabilities for BI = 1.00 and Bootstrap support for ML = 100).

Phytosanitary Cold Treatment of Spotted-Wing Drosophila, Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae) in 'Campbell Early' Grape.

The effects of cold storage temperature and exposure duration on different developmental stages of spotted-wing drosophila (SWD) Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae) on 'Campbell Early' grapes were examined to establish a phytosanitary control method. The immature stages (eggs, larvae and pupae) of SWD were all dead after a 6-d cold treatment at 1°C and 8-d cold treatment at 1.5 and 2°C. Probit-9 estimated a fourfold increase in cold treatment duration to achieve 99.9968% mortality, compared with the observed mortality. Efficacy tests using pupae, which were the most cold-tolerant stage, confirmed the validity of the selected temperature and exposure durations. Based on these results, 1°C, which requires a shorter exposure for complete mortality, was selected for the test in conditions that mimic those of grape exportation. Six-day cold treatments at 1°C produced 99.57%, mortality in different replicates, although the surviving pupae died later. Conversely, the 8- and 10-d treatments at 1°C showed 100% mortality, suggesting that these treatments can provide quarantine security against infestations of SWD on exported Campbell Early grapes, although an additional experiment with an increased sample size is required for further reliable conclusion.

Geographic variation in the spotted-wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae), based on mitochondrial DNA sequences.

The spotted-wing drosophila (SWD), Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae), is an economically damaging pest that feeds on most thin-skinned fruits. It was originally native to a few Asian countries, including Korea, but is now found in North America and Europe. In this study, we sequenced portions of the mitochondrial (mt) COI and ND4 genes from a total of 195 individuals collected mainly from Korea. We then combined GenBank-registered COI sequences from all ancestral-range and introduced-range populations with our own COI data to assess the worldwide diversity, divergence, and relatedness of SWD haplotypes. A total of 139 haplotypes were obtained from the concatenated COI and ND4 sequences. Most haplotypes were confined to single localities, but 12 of them were found in more than two localities, and one haplotype (SWDCN61) was found from Korea to Canada. A dataset combining GenBank sequences with our own data identified a total of 94 worldwide COI haplotypes with a maximum sequence divergence (MSD) of 5.433% (32 bp). Although most haplotypes were found in only a single country, a few haplotypes were found commonly in China, Korea, and Japan; these occurred at a higher frequency and were often involved in introductions. A rough estimate of genetic diversity in each country showed higher diversity in ancestral distributional ranges, but the invasion over Asian countries seems to have been substantial because haplotype diversity was only 2.35 to 3.97-fold lower in the U.S.A, Canada, and Italy than that in the populations' ancestral ranges.

Complete mitochondrial genome of the female-wingless bagworm moth, Eumeta variegata Snellen, 1879 (Lepidoptera: Psychidae).

The complete mitochondrial genome of the female-wingless bagworm moth, Eumeta variegata Snellen, 1879 (Lepidoptera: Psychidae), is 15,660 base pairs (bp) and contains a typical set of genes (13 protein-coding genes [PCGs], 2 rRNA genes, and 22 tRNA genes) and one non-coding region, with an arrangement identical to that observed in most lepidopteran genomes. Twelve PCGs contained the typical ATN start codon, whereas COI had the atypical CGA codon, which is frequently detected in the start region of the lepidopteran COI. The A + T-rich region was unusually short with only 94 bp. A recent report of the same species originating from Japan revealed a lack of trnE and trnF and a 1,118 bp long A + T-rich region. Phylogenetic analyses with concatenated sequences of the 13 PCGs and two rRNA genes using the Bayesian inference method placed E. variegata in Psychidae, as a sister to a within-familial species, Mahasena colona, with the highest nodal support (Bayesian posterior probability = 1).

Complete mitochondrial genome of Saturnia jonasii (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae): Genomic comparisons and phylogenetic inference among Bombycoidea.

The complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of Saturnia jonasii (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) was sequenced and compared to those of 19 other bombycoid species. Furthermore, the mitogenome sequences were used to infer phylogenetic relationships among bombycoid species. The 15,261-bp Saturnia jonasii mitogenome contained the typical sets of genes and gene arrangements found in majority of Lepidoptera. All Bombycoidea species, including Saturnia jonasii, have a 15-33-bp spacer sequence at the trnS2-ND1 junction. The phylogenetic reconstruction of bombycoid species consistently and strongly supported monophylies of the families, Saturniidae, Bombycidae, and Sphingidae, based on Bayesian inference (BI) and maximum-likelihood (ML) methods. Among these families, the Bombycidae and Sphingidae species consistently showed a sister relationship, regardless of data partitions; the BI method strongly supported this relationship, whereas it was moderately supported using the ML method.

Complete mitochondrial genome of the lappet moth, Kunugia undans (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae): genomic comparisons among macroheteroceran superfamilies

Abstract The mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) characteristics of the monotypic Lasiocampoidea are largely unknown, because only limited number of mitogenomes is available from this superfamily. In this study, we sequenced the complete mitogenome of the lappet moth, Kunugia undans (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae) and compared it to those of Lasiocampoidea and macroheteroceran superfamilies (59 species in six superfamilies). The 15,570-bp K. undans genome had one additional trnR that was located between trnA and trnN loci and this feature was unique in Macroheterocera, including Lasiocampoidea. Considering that the two trnR copies are located in tandem with proper secondary structures and identical anticodons, a gene duplication event might be responsible for the presence of the two tRNAs. Nearly all macroheteroceran species, excluding Lasiocampoidea, have a spacer sequence (1-34 bp) at the trnS2 and ND1 junction, but most lasiocampid species, including K. undans, have an overlap at the trnS2 and ND1 junction, which represents a different genomic feature in Lasiocampoidea. Nevertheless, a TTAGTAT motif, which is typically detected in Macroheterocera at the trnS2 and ND1 junction, was also detected in all Lasiocampoidea. In summary, the general mitogenome characteristics of Lasiocampoidea did not differ greatly from the remaining macroheteroceran superfamilies, but it did exhibit some unique features.

Complete mitochondrial genome of the lappet moth, Kunugia undans (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae): genomic comparisons among macroheteroceran superfamilies.

The mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) characteristics of the monotypic Lasiocampoidea are largely unknown, because only limited number of mitogenomes is available from this superfamily. In this study, we sequenced the complete mitogenome of the lappet moth, Kunugia undans (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae) and compared it to those of Lasiocampoidea and macroheteroceran superfamilies (59 species in six superfamilies). The 15,570-bp K. undans genome had one additional trnR that was located between trnA and trnN loci and this feature was unique in Macroheterocera, including Lasiocampoidea. Considering that the two trnR copies are located in tandem with proper secondary structures and identical anticodons, a gene duplication event might be responsible for the presence of the two tRNAs. Nearly all macroheteroceran species, excluding Lasiocampoidea, have a spacer sequence (1-34 bp) at the trnS2 and ND1 junction, but most lasiocampid species, including K. undans, have an overlap at the trnS2 and ND1 junction, which represents a different genomic feature in Lasiocampoidea. Nevertheless, a TTAGTAT motif, which is typically detected in Macroheterocera at the trnS2 and ND1 junction, was also detected in all Lasiocampoidea. In summary, the general mitogenome characteristics of Lasiocampoidea did not differ greatly from the remaining macroheteroceran superfamilies, but it did exhibit some unique features.

Complete mitochondrial genome of the yellow-legged Asian hornet, Vespa velutina nigrithorax (Hymenoptera: Vespidae).

The yellow-legged Asian hornet, Vespa velutina nigrithorax, which originated from Asia, has invaded several countries, including South Korea. In Korea, V. velutina nigrithorax predation on honeybees is one of the most serious factors threatening apiculture. We sequenced the complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of V. velutina to better understand the mitogenomic characteristics of this species. The 16,475 bp mitogenome of V. velutina consists of a typical set of genes, with an arrangement identical to that of congeneric species. Vespa velutina possesses the shortest A + T-rich region (132 bp) among congeneric Vespa, and this is also the shortest in the superfamily Vespoidea. Phylogenetic analysis using the 13 protein-coding genes of Vespoidea species indicated that each family forms strongly supported monophyletic groups (Bayesian posterior probability =1; ML, 100%). Moreover, V. velutina and V. bicolor form strongly supported sister groups (Bayesian posterior probability =1; ML, 100%).

2 cases of vasculo-Beh et's disease involving intracranial artery

Both vein and arterial involvements with various manifestations in Beh et's disease is defined as vasculo-Beh et's disease. Venous lesions such as thrombosis or varices are more common than arterial lesions. Aneurysms or arterial steno-occlusion involving large intracranial arteries are very rare. We report two cases of vasculo-Beh et's disease involving intracranial arteries. The one case presented with carotid-cavernous sinus fistula due to internal carotid aneurysm, and the other case was accompanied by cerebral infarct due to intracranial arterial stenosis.