The mitochondrial genome sequence of Cosmolaelaps hrdyi (Samšiňák, 1961) (Acari: Laelapidae): Genome characterization and phylogenetic analysis

Abstract Many predatory mites of the subfamily Hypoaspidinae are important biological control agents of pest organisms. Here, an Illumina HiSeq platform was used to sequence the complete mitochondrial (mt) genome of Cosmolaelaps hrdyi. The mt genome is a circular molecule of 15,437 bp (GenBank number: OR643715), and a total of 37 genes were identified. The first codon in all 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs) is ATN. With the exception of the stop codon of ND3, which was TAG and the incomplete codon of ATP8, the stop codon of the remaining 11 PCGs was TAA. All tRNAs had typical cloverleaf secondary structures, with the exception of trnS1 (AGN). A strong AT nucleotide bias (81.75%) and positive skew in both AT (0.026) and GC (0.252) were observed across the whole mt genome of C. hrdyi. Positive AT skew and GC skew were detected in all genes but the two rRNA genes. A phylogenetic tree of 29 mite species (Dermanyssiae) was constructed using mt genome sequences by the maximum likelihood method. A close relationship between Laelapidae and Varroidae was confirmed by the phylogenetic analysis.