First Report on Mitochondrial Gene Rearrangement in Non-Biting Midges, Revealing a Synapomorphy in Stenochironomus Kieffer (Diptera: Chironomidae)
by
Chen-Guang Zheng
1, 
Zheng Liu
2,
Yan-Min Zhao
3,
Yang Wang
4,
Wen-Jun Bu
1,
Xin-Hua Wang
1 and
Xiao-Long Lin
1,*
1
College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
2
Geological Museum of China, Beijing 100083, China
3
State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China
4
Department of Plant Protection, College of Horticulture and Landscape, Tianjin Agricultural University, Tianjin 300392, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Insects 2022, 13(2), 115; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects13020115
Submission received: 26 November 2021
/
Revised: 20 January 2022
/
Accepted: 20 January 2022
/
Published: 21 January 2022
(This article belongs to the Section Insect Systematics, Phylogeny and Evolution)
Simple Summary
Gene rearrangement is an additional type of data to support relationships of taxa, with rearrangement synapomorphies identified across multiple orders and at many different taxonomic levels. The concept to use mitochondrial gene rearrangements as phylogenetic markers has been proposed since the mid-1980s, the synapomorphic gene rearrangements have been identified from many lineages. However, mitochondrial gene rearrangement has never been observed in the non-biting midges (Diptera: Chironomidae). Here, seven new mitogenomes of the genus Stenochironomus were sequenced and analyzed. Coupled with published data, phylogenetic analyses were performed within Chironominae. The present study showed that mitogenomes of Stenochironomus are showing a higher A+T bias than other chironomid species. A synapomorphic gene rearrangement that the gene order rearranges from trnI-trnQ-trnM to trnI-trnM-trnQ was identified within Stenochironomus, which is the first instance of mitochondrial gene rearrangement discovered in the Chironomidae. The monophyly of the genus Stenochironomus was strongly supported by mitogenomes. Our study provides new insights into the mitochondrial gene order of Chironomidae, and provides a valuable resource for understanding synapomorphic gene rearrangements.
Abstract
(1) Background: Gene rearrangement of mitochondrial genome, especially those with phylogenetic signals, has long fascinated evolutionary biologists. The synapomorphic gene rearrangements have been identified across multiple orders and at many different taxonomic levels, supporting the monophyletic or systematic relationships of related lineages. However, mitochondrial gene rearrangement has never been observed in the non-biting midges (Diptera: Chironomidae); (2) methods: in this study, the complete mitogenomes of seven Stenochironomus species were sequenced and analyzed for the first time; (3) results: each mitogenome of Stenochironomus contains 37 typical genes and a control region. The whole mitogenomes of Stenochironomus species exhibit a higher A+T bias than other published chironomid species. The gene order rearranges from trnI-trnQ-trnM to trnI-trnM-trnQ in all the seven mitogenomes of Stenochironomus, which might be act as a synapomorphy of the genus, supporting the monophyletic of Stenochironomus species. In addition, another derived gene cluster: trnA-trnG-ND3-trnR exists in Stenochironomus tobaduodecimus. The derived gene orders described above are the first case of mitochondrial gene rearrangement in Chironomidae. Coupled with published data, phylogenetic relationships were reconstructed within Chironominae, and strongly supported the monophyly of Stenochironomus; (4) conclusions: our study provides new insights into the mitochondrial gene order of Chironomidae, and provides a valuable resource for understanding the synapomorphic gene rearrangements.
Keywords:
mitochondrial genome; gene rearrangement; chironomid; phylogeny
