The complete mitochondrial genome of the black cutworm Agrotis ipsilon (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) was determined (GenBank accession No. KF163965). The length of this mitochondrial genome is 15,377 bp with an A + T content of 82.5%. There are 37 typical animal mitochondrial genes, that is, 13 protein-coding, 2 rRNA and 22 tRNA gene and an A + T-rich region. The tRNA gene trnM was rearranged to the upstream of the trnI-trnQ-trnM cluster compared with the pupative ancestral arrangement of insects. All protein-coding genes start with ATN start codon except for the gene cox1, which uses CGA as in other lepidopteran species. Ten protein-coding genes stop with termination codon TAA, whereas three protein-coding gene use incomplete stop codon T. The A + T-region is located between rrnS and trnM with a length of 332 bp and A + T content of 94.88%.
Keywords: A + T content; lepidoptera; start codon; stop codon.