The Complete Mitochondrial Genome of Lepidotrigona flavibasis (Hymenoptera: Meliponini) and High Gene Rearrangement in Lepidotrigona Mitogenomes |
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| Authors: | Cheng-Ye Wang Min Zhao Shi-Jie Wang Huan-Li Xu Ye-Meng Yang Li-Ning Liu Ying Feng |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Research Institute of Resource Insects, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Kunming, China;2. Environment and Plant Protection Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Haikou, China;3. Department of Entomology, College of Plant Protection, China Agricultural University, Beijing,, China;4. School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China |
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| Abstract: | We reported the sequence and characteristics of the complete mitochondrial genome of an ecologically important stingless bee, Lepidotrigona flavibasis (Hymenoptera: Meliponini), that has suffered serious population declines in recent years. A phylogenetic analysis based on complete mitogenomes indicated that L. flavibasis was first clustered with another Lepidotrigona species (L. terminata) and then joined with the other two Melipona (Hymenoptera: Meliponini) stingless bees (M. scutellaris and M. bicolor), forming a single clade of stingless bees. The stingless bee clade has a closer relationship with bumblebees (Bombus) (Hymenoptera: Apidae) than with honeybees (Apis) (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Extremely high gene rearrangements involving tRNAs, rRNAs, D-loop regions, and protein-coding genes were observed in the Lepidotrigona mitogenomes, suggesting an overactive evolutionary status in Lepidotrigona species. These mitogenomic organization variations could provide a good system with which to understand the evolutionary history of Meliponini. |
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| Keywords: | stingless bees phylogeney evolution China |
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