Complete DNA sequence of the mitochondrial genome of the treehopper Leptobelus gazella (Membracoidea: Hemiptera)

Abstract

The first complete DNA sequence of the mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of Leptobelus gazelle (Membracoidea: Hemiptera) is determined in this study. The circular molecule is 16,007 bp in its full length, which encodes a set of 37 genes, including 13 proteins, 2 ribosomal RNAs, 22 transfer RNAs, and contains an A + T-rich region (CR). The gene numbers, content, and organization of L. gazelle are similar to other typical metazoan mitogenomes. Twelve of the 13 PCGs are initiated with ATR methionine or ATT isoleucine codons, except the atp8 gene that uses the ATC isoleucine as start signal. Ten of the 13 PCGs have complete termination codons, either TAA (nine genes) or TAG (cytb). The remaining 3 PCGs (cox1, cox2 and nad5) have incomplete termination codons T (AA). All of the 22 tRNAs can be folded in the form of a typical clover-leaf structure. The complete mitogenome sequence data of L. gazelle is useful for the phylogenetic and biogeographic studies of the Membracoidea and Hemiptera.

• Hemiptera
• Leptobelus gazelle
• Membracoidea
• mitochondrial genome

Declaration of interest

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

This work was supported by a grant from the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) (grant no. 2011CB302102), a grant from the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China (MOST Grant No. 2011FY120200) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant nos. 31172128, 31372249), all awarded to APL.