Gene characterization and phylogenetic analysis of four mitochondrial genomes in Caenogastropoda

Caenogastropoda is a highly diverse group, containing ∼60% of all existing gastropods. Species in this subclass predominantly inhabit marine environments and have a high ecological and economic value. Owing to the increase in relevant phylogenetic studies, our understanding of between species relatedness in Caenogastropoda has improved. However, the biodiversity, taxonomic status, and phylogenetic relationships of this group remain unclear. In the present study, we performed next-generation sequencing of four complete mitochondrial genomes from three families (Buccinidae, Columbellidae, and Cypraeidae) and the four mitogenomes were classical circular structures, with a length of 16 177 bp in Volutharpa ampullacea, 16 244 bp in Mitrella albuginosa, 16 926 bp in Mauritia arabica asiatica and 15 422 bp in Erronea errones. Base composition analysis indicated that whole sequences were biased toward A and T. Then compared them with 171 complete mitochondrial genomes of Caenogastropoda. The phylogenetic relationship of Caenogastropoda derived from Maximum Likelihood (ML) and Bayesian Inference (BI) trees constructed based on CDS sequences was consistent with the results of traditional morphological analysis, with all three families showing close relationships. This study supported Caenogastropoda at the molecular level as a separate clade of Mollusca. According to our divergence time estimations, Caenogastropoda was formed during the middle Triassic period (∼247.2–237 Ma). Our novel mitochondrial genomes provide evidence for the speciation of Caenogastropoda in addition to elucidating the mitochondrial genomic evolution of this subclass.