The complete mitochondrial genome of Xenopsylla cheopis (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae)

Furong Wei; Xiaokai Jia; Ying Wang; Yuetao Yang; Junyun Wang; Chunhua Gao; Yong Wang

doi:10.1080/23802359.2021.2017368

The complete mitochondrial genome of Xenopsylla cheopis (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae)

Mitochondrial DNA B Resour. 2022 Jan 5;7(1):170-171. doi: 10.1080/23802359.2021.2017368. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Furong Wei¹, Xiaokai Jia¹, Ying Wang¹, Yuetao Yang¹, Junyun Wang¹, Chunhua Gao¹, Yong Wang²

Affiliations

¹ National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Chinese Center for Tropical Diseases Research), NHC Key Laboratory of Parasite and Vector Biology, WHO Collaborating Centre for Tropical Diseases, National Center for International Research on Tropical Diseases, Shanghai, China.
² Department of Forensic Science, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, China.

Abstract

Xenopsylla cheopis, also called oriental rat flea, is an ectoparasite as well as disease vector for murine typhus and bubonic plague. In the study, the whole mitochondrial genome of X. cheopis was sequenced and assembled, which is the second report of mitochondrial genome in the family Pulicidae and the sixth mitochondrial genome in the order Siphonaptera (fleas). The mitochondrial genome is 18,902 bp in length, consisting of 40% A, 44% T, 6% G, and 10% C. Phylogenetic analysis of all available mitochondrial genomes from Siphonaptera indicated that X. cheopis clustered with Ctenocephalides felis since both species belonged to the family Pulicidae. The complete mitochondrial genome of X. cheopis could serve as useful genetic data for investigating the genetic relationship of fleas.

Keywords: Mitochondrial genome; Xenopsylla cheopis; phylogenetic analysis.

Grants and funding

The study was supported by the Fifth Round of Three-Year Public Health Action Plan of Shanghai [No. GWV-10.1-XK13].