Comparative mitochondrial genomes of four species of and phylogenetic implications (Orthoptera, Melanoplinae).

In this study, the whole mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) from four species were sequenced. The complete mitochondrial genomes of , , , and are 15,857 bp, 15,818 bp, 15,843 bp, and 15,872 bp in size, respectively. The 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs) begin with typical ATN codons, except for COXI in , which begins with ACC. The highest A+T content in all the sequenced orthopteran mitogenomes is 76.8% (), followed by 76.5% (), 76.4% () and 76.4% () (measured on the major strand). The long polythymine stretches (T-stretch) in the A+T-rich region of the four species are not adjacent to the trnI locus but are inside the stem-loop sequences on the major strand. Moreover, several repeated elements are found in the A+T-rich region of the four species. Phylogenetic analysis based on 53 mitochondrial genomes using Bayesian Inference (BI) and Maximum Likelihood (ML) revealed that Melanoplinae (Podismini) was a monophyletic group; however, the monophyly of was not supported. These data will provide important information for a better understanding of the phylogenetic relationship of Melanoplinae.