Comparative mitochondrial genomics of five Dermestid beetles (Coleoptera: Dermestidae) and its implications for phylogeny.

Dermestid beetles (Coleoptera: Dermestidae) are important pests of various stored products, posing potential threats to international trade. Their detailed characterization on molecular basis is a pre-requisite for proper identification and for understanding of their phylogenetic relationships. In this work, the whole mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) of Trogoderma granarium, Dermestes lardarius, D. ater, Attagenus augustatus augustatus and Attagenus unicolor japonicus were firstly sequenced to update the database using the next-generation sequencing technique. Based on the selected model species, a comparative analysis of four Dermestidae genera was performed. The mitochondrial genomes of these five species above showed high similarity in nucleotide composition, base composition and gene order, including 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNAs (tRNAs), 2 ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs) and a non-coding control region, which was similar to most of Coleoptera species. The phylogenetic analysis based on the PCGs and two rRNAs indicated that the relationships within Dermestidae were reconstructed as (((Trogoderma + Anthrenus) + Attagenus) + Dermestes) using both Maximum Likelihood (ML) and Bayesian Inference (BI) analysis. However, more mitogenomes should be sequenced to obtain a more holistic view of the whole family. This study not only showed the mitogenomes of five Dermestidae species and their high conservativeness, but also discussed its implications for reconstructing a more comprehensive phylogeny of dermestids.

The first complete mitochondrial genome of Dermestes dimidiatus ab. rosea Kusnezova and its phylogenetic implications for the superfamily Bostrichoidea.

In this study, the complete mitochondrial genome of Dermestes dimidiatus ab. rosea was characterized using next-generation sequencing, and the phylogenetic relationships of superfamily Bostrichoidea were established. The results showed that the mitochondrial genome of D. dimidiatus ab. rosea was 16,073 bp in size, and it contained thirteen protein-coding genes (PCGs), twenty-two transfer RNA genes (tRNAs), two ribosomal RNA genes (rRNAs), and a control region. The composition of the whole mitochondrial genome of this species was 41.3% A, 13.5% C, 9.3% G, and 35.9% T, which had high A + T content (77.2%). Phylogenetic relationships of the superfamily Bostrichoidea showed that D. dimidiatus ab. rosea and Dermestes tessellatocollis formed in a clade that was a sister group to (Dermestes maculatus + Dermestes frischii), indicating that Dermestidae was a monophyletic group. This is the first report of a complete mitochondrial genome of D. dimidiatus ab. rosea and preliminary study of Bostrichoidea mitochondrial genome, which is of great significance for the molecular identification of this species and the enrichment of mitochondrial genome database.