Complete mitochondrial genome of Plodia interpunctella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae).

The Plodia interpunctella belongs to Pyralidae in Lepidoptera. The complete mitogenome of P. interpunctella was described in this study, which is typically circular duplex molecules and 15,403 bp in length, containing the standard metazoan set of 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes, and an A + T-rich region. The gene order is the same as other lepidopterans. Except for cox1 started with CGA, all other PCGs started with the standard ATN codons. Most of the PCGs terminated with the stop codon TAA, whereas nad1 has the stop codon TAG, nad4 has the incomplete stop codon T. The phylogenetic tree showed that P. interpunctella and Corcyra cephalonica are clustered into a clade Pyralidae.

The complete mitochondrial genome of Choristoneura longicellana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) and phylogenetic analysis of Lepidoptera.

To better understand the diversity and phylogeny of Lepidoptera, the complete mitochondrial genome of Choristoneura longicellana (=Hoshinoa longicellana) was determined. It is a typical circular duplex molecule with 15,759bp in length, containing the standard metazoan set of 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes, and an A+T-rich region. All of the inferred tRNA secondary structures show the common cloverleaf pattern, with the exception of trnS1(AGN), which lacks the DHU arm. The rrnL of C. Longicellana is the longest in sequenced lepidopterans. C. Longicellana has the same gene order as all lepidopteran species currently available in GenBank. There are 5 overlapping regions ranging from 1bp to 8bp and 14 intergenic spacers ranging from 1bp to 48bp. In addition, there are four similar tandem macro-satellite regions with the lengths of 101bp, 98bp, 92bp, and 92bp respectively in the A+T-rich regions of C. longicellana. We sampled 89 species representing 13 superfamilies, and reconstructed their relationship among Lepidoptera by Bayesian Inference and Maximum Likelihood analysis. The topology of the two phylogenetic analysis trees is identical roughly, except for Cossoidea in different locations, the positions of Cossoidea, Copromorphoidea, Gelechioidea, Zygaenoidea were not determined based the limited sampling. (Geometroidea+(Noctuoidea+Bombycoidea)) form the Macrolepidoptera "core". Pyraloidea group with the "core" Macrolepidoptera. Papilionoidea are not Macrolepidoptera. The Hesperiidae (represent Hesperioidea) is nested in the Papilionoidea, and closely related to Pieridae and Papilionidae. The well-known relationship of (Nymphalidae+(Riodinidae+Lycaenidae)) is recovered in this paper.

The complete mitochondrial genome of Acleris fimbriana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae).

The yellow tortrix, Acleris fimbriana belongs to Tortricidae in Lepidoptera. We described the complete mitogenome of A. fimbriana, which is typical circular duplex molecules and 15,933 bp in length containing the standard metazoan set of 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes and an A + T-rich region with macro-repeat sequences. All the inferred tRNA secondary structures show the common cloverleaf pattern, with the exception of trnS1(AGN) which lacks the DHU arm. The A. fimbriana mitochondrial genome has the same gene order with other lepidopterans.

The complete mitochondrial genome of Carposina sasakii (Lepidoptera: Carposinidae).

The peach fruit moth, Carposina sasakii belongs to Carposinidae in Lepidoptera. In this paper, we described the complete mitogenome of C. sasakii. It is 15,611 bp in length, including 13 PCGs, 2 rRNAs, 22 tRNAs and a major noncoding A + T-rich region, which revealed the typical gene content found in other metazoan mitogenomes. The overall base composition is 42.0% A, 39.5% T, 7.75% G and 10.75% C. The A + T-rich region is located between rrnS and trnM. There is a motif ATAGA in downstream of rrnS followed by a 19 bp Poly-T stretch. The Poly-A is not found in upstream of trnM, and the position of Poly-A is replaced by a stem-loop structure. There are eight mononucleotide repeat sequences (Tn/An) with the length of 7 bp-19bp, three dinucleotide repeat sequences (TA)n/(AT)n, and a longer repeat sequence (AATATATA)5 in A + T-rich region. The mononucleotide repeat sequences occur repeatedly in A + T-rich reigion of C. sasakii, which is special in insects sequenced of Lepidoptera.

Characterization of the complete mitochondrion genome of diurnal Moth Amata emma (Butler) (Lepidoptera: Erebidae) and its phylogenetic implications.

Mitogenomes can provide information for phylogenetic analyses and evolutionary biology. The complete mitochondrial genome of Amata emma (Lepidoptera: Erebidae) was sequenced and analyzed in the study. The circular genome is 15,463 bp in size, with the gene content, orientation and order identical to other ditrysian insects. The genome composition of the major strand shows highly A+T biased and exhibits negative AT-skew and GC-skew. The initial codons are the canonical putative start codons ATN with the exception of cox1 gene which uses CGA instead. Ten genes share complete termination codons TAA, and three genes use incomplete stop codons TA or T. Additionally, the codon distribution and Relative Synonymous Codon Usage of the 13 PCGs in the A. emma mitogenome are consistent with those in other Noctuid mitogenomes. All tRNA genes have typical cloverleaf secondary structures, except for the trnS1 (AGN) gene, in which the dihydrouridine (DHU) arm is simplified down to a loop. The secondary structures of two rRNA genes broadly conform with the models proposed for these genes of other Lepidopteran insects. Except for the A+T-rich region, there are three major intergenic spacers, spanning at least 10 bp and five overlapping regions. There are obvious differences in the A+T-rich region between A. emma and other Lepidopteran insects reported previously except that the A+T-rich region contains an 'ATAGA' -like motif followed by a 19 bp poly-T stretch and a (AT)9 element preceded by the 'ATTTA' motif. It neither has a poly-A (in the α strand) upstream trnM nor potential stem-loop structures and just has some simple structures like (AT)nGTAT. The phylogenetic relationships based on nucleotide sequences of 13 PCGs using Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood methods provided a well-supported a broader outline of Lepidoptera and which agree with the traditional morphological classification and recently working, but with a much higher support.

The mitochondrial genome of Elodia flavipalpis Aldrich (Diptera: Tachinidae) and the evolutionary timescale of Tachinid flies.

Tachinid flies are natural enemies of many lepidopteran and coleopteran pests of forests, crops, and fruit trees. In order to address the lack of genetic data in this economically important group, we sequenced the complete mitochondrial genome of the Palaearctic tachinid fly Elodia flavipalpis Aldrich, 1933. Usually found in Northern China and Japan, this species is one of the primary natural enemies of the leaf-roller moths (Tortricidae), which are major pests of various fruit trees. The 14,932-bp mitochondrial genome was typical of Diptera, with 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, and 2 rRNA genes. However, its control region is only 105 bp in length, which is the shortest found so far in flies. In order to estimate dipteran evolutionary relationships, we conducted a phylogenetic analysis of 58 mitochondrial genomes from 23 families. Maximum-likelihood and Bayesian methods supported the monophyly of both Tachinidae and superfamily Oestroidea. Within the subsection Calyptratae, Muscidae was inferred as the sister group to Oestroidea. Within Oestroidea, Calliphoridae and Sarcophagidae formed a sister clade to Oestridae and Tachinidae. Using a Bayesian relaxed clock calibrated with fossil data, we estimated that Tachinidae originated in the middle Eocene.

The complete mitochondrial genome of Leucoptera malifoliella Costa (Lepidoptera: Lyonetiidae).

The mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of Leucoptera malifoliella (=L. scitella) (Lepidoptera: Lyonetiidae) was sequenced. The size was 15,646 bp with gene content and order the same as those of other lepidopterans. The nucleotide composition of L. malifoliella mitogenome is highly A+T biased (82.57%), ranked just below Coreana raphaelis (82.66%) (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae). All protein-coding genes (PCGs) start with the typical ATN codon except for the cox1 gene, which uses CGA as the initiation codon. Nine PCGs have the common stop codon TAA, four PCGs have the common stop codon T as incomplete stop codons, and nad4l and nad6 have TAG as the stop codon. Cloverleaf secondary structures were inferred for 22 tRNA genes, but trnS1(AGN) was found to lack the DHU stem. The secondary structure of rrnL and rrnS is generally similar to other lepidopterans but with some minor differences. The A+T-rich region includes the motif ATAGA, but the poly (T) stretch is replaced by a stem-loop structure, which may have a similar function to the poly (T) stretch. Finally, there are three long repeat (154 bp) sequences followed by one short repeat (56 bp) with four (TA)(n) intervals, and a 10-bp poly-A is present upstream of trnM. Phylogenetic analysis shows that the position of Yponomeutoidea, as represented by L. malifoliella, is the same as traditional classifications. Yponomeutoidea is the sister to the other lepidopteran superfamilies covered in the present study.

The complete mitochondrial genome of the rice moth, Corcyra cephalonica.

The complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of the rice moth, Corcyra cephalonica Stainton (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) was determined as a circular molecular of 15,273 bp in size. The mitogenome composition (37 genes) and gene order are the same as the other lepidopterans. Nucleotide composition of the C. cephalonica mitogenome is highly A+T biased (80.43%) like other insects. Twelve protein-coding genes start with a typical ATN codon, with the exception of coxl gene, which uses CGA as the initial codon. Nine protein-coding genes have the common stop codon TAA, and the nad2, cox1, cox2, and nad4 have single T as the incomplete stop codon. 22 tRNA genes demonstrated cloverleaf secondary structure. The mitogenome has several large intergenic spacer regions, the spacer1 between trnQ gene and nad2 gene, which is common in Lepidoptera. The spacer 3 between trnE and trnF includes microsatellite-like repeat regions (AT)18 and (TTAT)(3). The spacer 4 (16 bp) between trnS2 gene and nad1 gene has a motif ATACTAT; another species, Sesamia inferens encodes ATCATAT at the same position, while other lepidopteran insects encode a similar ATACTAA motif. The spacer 6 is A+T rich region, include motif ATAGA and a 20-bp poly(T) stretch and two microsatellite (AT)(9), (AT)(8) elements.

[Effects of Cd2+ concentration on life table demography of Brachionus calyciflorus under different Scenedesmus obliquus density].

In order to understand the chronic toxicity of a pollutant to an organism in an aquatic environment with different food density, and screen out sensitive endpoints for monitoring Cd2+ pollution with rotifers as test animals, this paper studied the effects of different concentration (2.5, 5.0, 10.0, 20.0 and 40.0 microg x L(-1)) Cd2+ on the life table demography of Bracionus calyciflorus at the Scenedesmus obliquus density being 1.0 x 10(6), 3.0 x 10(6), and 5.0 x 10(6) cells x ml(-1). The results showed that at 25 +/- 1 degrees C, the 24 h LC50 of Cd2+ to B. calyciflorus was 37.7 microg x L(-1). Compared with the controls at the same food density, when the S. obliquus density was 1.0 x 10(6) cells x ml(-1), 20.0 and 40.0 microg x L(-1) of Cd2+ prolonged the generation time of B. calyciflorus significantly, and 5.0 microg x L(-1) of Cd2+ increased the percentage of B. calyciflorus mictic offspring. When the S. obliquus density was 3.0 x 10(6) cells x ml(-1), the Cd2+ at all test concentrations except 5.0 microg x L(-1) decreased the percentage of mictic offspring; when the S. obliquus density was 5.0 x 10(6) cells x ml(-1), all test concentration Cd2+ had no effects on the life table demography (P > 0.05). S. obliquus density had significant effects on the generation time, life expectancy at birth, net reproduction rate, percentage of mictic offspring of B. calyciflorus (P < 0.05), Cd2+ concentration had significant effects on the generation time and the percentage of mictic offspring (P < 0.05), and the interaction of S. obliquus density and Cd2+ concentration had significant effects on the percentage of mictic offspring (P < 0.01). Among all the studied parameters, the generation time and the percentage of mictic offspring were more sensitive to Cd2+ pollution under the algal densities of 1.0 x 10(6) and 3.0 x 10(6) cells x ml(-1), with the latter being the most sensitive.