Mitochondrial genome variation of mosquito species in the subgenus Stegomyia of the genus Aedes (Diptera: Culicidae)

Mosquitoes in the subgenus Stegomyia of the genus Aedes are vectors of a number of vertebrate viruses, including human arboviral fevers. Of particular interest is the study of the genetic characteristics of invasive populations of species in this group. We obtained, annotated and described the mitochondrial genomes of three Stegomyia mosquito species of the genus Aedes: Ae. albopictus, Ae. flavopictus and Ae. sibiricus. The mitochondrial genomes of Ae. flavopictus and Ae. sibiricus were obtained from mosquitoes from synanthropic populations in the Russian Far East. The mitochondrial genome of Ae. sibiricus is presented for the first time. The mitochondrial genome of Ae. albopictus was obtained for the C6/36 cell line. We selected three primer sets, for each mosquito species, that amplify the entire mitochondrial genome except for the control region and sequenced the genomes using the Sanger method. All three new genomes have an identical gene order. We identified 13 canonical protein-coding genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes, and 22 transport RNA genes. Protein-coding genes have canonical start and stop codons with two exceptions. The canonical stop codon “TAA” is incomplete in the cox1 and cox2 genes. The cox1 gene lacks the canonical start codon for methionine. Nucleotide variability is mainly represented by point nucleotide substitutions. A phylogenetic analysis of the nucleotide sequences of complete mitochondrial genomes of all known mosquitoes species in the subgenus Stegomyia of the genus Aedes was performed. The data obtained made it possible to measure the ratio of synonymous to non-synonymous substitutions (Ka/Ks) in specific protein-coding genes.

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