Revisiting Coleoptera a + T-rich region: structural conservation, phylogenetic and phylogeographic approaches in mitochondrial control region of bioluminescent Elateridae species (Coleoptera)

Abstract

The control region (CR) or A + T-rich region in Coleoptera mt genome is poorly characterized, including the Elateroidea bioluminescent species. Here, we provided the first attempt to characterize and compare the structure and organization of the CR of different species within Elateridae. We also revisited some sequenced Coleoptera CR and observed consensus T-stretches, non-conserved sequences near the stem-loop and unusual inner tRNAs-like sequences. All these features are probably involved in the replication start of the mt genome. The phylogenetic relationships in Elateridae bioluminescent groups using partial sequence of CR showed the monophyly of Pyrearinus pumilus group and Pyrearinus as a polyphyletic genus, corroborating our previous results. The wider genetic variation obtained by CR analysis could separate two different lineages that occur within P. termitilluminans populations. In Elateridae, the CR exhibited high polymorphism within and between populations, which was also observed in other Coleoptera species, suggesting that the CR could be described as a suitable molecular marker to be applied in phylogenetic and phylogeographic studies.

Keywords:

• Coleoptera
• control region
• Elateridae
• mitochondrial genome
• structural organization

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr Ana Claudia Lessinger (UFSCar), Dr Cleide Costa (MZUSP), Dr Simone Rosa, Msc. Raphael Machado, Mayra Rocha, Priscila Tanioka and Oskar Hagen; to Msc. Isabel Bonatelli for the comments on the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Funding information

This study was financially supported by the Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP n. 2010/02868-0; n. 2011/19427-9, n. 2014/20176-9, n. 2013/09594-0 and n. 2013/00574-7) and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq n. 477616/2012-7 Brazil).