Hasegawa, E., Kobayashi, K., Yagi, N. & Tsuji, K.

Complete mitochondrial genomes of normal and cheater morphs in the parthenogenetic ant Pristomyrmex punctatus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Complete sequences of the mitochondrial genome were determined for the normal and cheater morphs of the parthenogenetic ant Pristomyrmex punctatus. The circular genomes of both morphs were 16269 and 16180 bp in length, respectively, with each genome containing the standard gene complement of metazoan mitochondria, i.e., 16S and 12S ribosomal Rna subunits, twenty-two transfer Rna (tRNA) genes, and thirteen protein-coding genes. With the exception of several tRNA gene translocations, the organization of the morph genomes was similar to that found in vespid wasps. The nucleotide composition was AT-rich (79.6%), resulting from an At bias at the third codon position in the proteincoding genes. The base composition bias in the control region (77.9% AT) was lower than previously reported for the Apocrita of the Hymenoptera (85.6-96.0% AT) due to the GC-rich composition of two direct-repeats located on both sides of a short AT-rich region (209 bp, 84.6% AT). Considerable substitutions between the two genomes were observed, illustrating that these are useful to show evolutionary history of the cheater morph within the species.

Open access, licensed under CC BY 4.0. © 2011 The Author(s).

Mitochondria, complete genome, genome organization, mtDNA.