Characterization of the complete mitochondrial genome and phylogenetic analysis of Menochilus sexmaculata (Fabricius, 1781) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

Abstract

We sequenced the complete mitochondrial genome of Menochilus sexmaculata (Fabricius, 1781) and compared it with that of other insects. The mitogenome of M. sexmaculata is a circular molecule of 16,663 bp with 75.00% AT content, containing 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 tRNAs, 2 rRNAs, and one non-coding control region. All of the PCGs use the typical ATN as the initiation codon, with the exception of cox1 and nad3 which begin with AAT and TTG, respectively. Cox1, cox2, cox3, nad3, nad4, nad5 and nad6 employ a single T as a termination signal, while others have the typical termination codons (TAA or TAG). All the 22 typical animal tRNA genes are found in M. sexmaculata mitogenome, and most of the tRNAs could be folded into the classic cloverleaf secondary structure. Phylogenetic tree based on 13 PCGs suggested that M. sexmaculata is closely related to Anatis ocellata and Calvia championorum, and clustered within Coccinellidae.

Keywords: Coccinellidae; Menochilus sexmaculata; mitochondrial genome; phylogenetic analysis.