Complete mitochondrial DNA sequence of the alien hornet Vespa velutina (Insecta: Hymenoptera) invading Kyushu Island, Japan

Abstract

We analyzed the complete mitochondrial genome of the invasive Asian hornet Vespa velutina from Kyushu Island, Japan. The mitochondrial genome of V. velutina was identified as a circular molecule of 16,388 bp. We predicted that the genome contains 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 tRNA genes, and 2 rRNA genes, along with one A þ T-rich control region. The average AT content is 81.68%. Molecular phylogenetic analysis using the 13 mitochondrial PCGs from 11 closely related taxa of Vespidae indicated that the V. velutina invading the Japanese Islands of Kyushu and Tsushima have a common origin.

Complete mitochondrial DNA sequence of the tropical hornet Vespa affinis (Insecta, Hymenoptera)

“…The average AT content of the 13 protein-coding genes was 78.4%, similar to the 82% found in V. velutina (Takahashi et al. 2017 ). The V. affinis genome, was predicted to have nine protein-coding and 14 tRNA genes on the heavy strand and four protein-coding, eight tRNA, and two rRNA genes on the light strand.…”

“…Although it is 2000 bp longer than the Vespa genomes it has a very similar genomic organization, since it is composed of 13 protein-coding, 22 putative tRNA, and two rRNA genes, as well as an A þ T-rich control region. The average AT content of the 13 protein-coding genes was 78.4%, similar to the 82% found in V. velutina (Takahashi et al 2017). The V. affinis genome, was predicted to have nine protein-coding and 14 tRNA genes on the heavy strand and four protein-coding, eight tRNA, and two rRNA genes on the light strand.…”

“… 2017a , 2017b ; Takahashi et al. 2017 ) was shown to be similar to the result by the combined analysis based on 45 morphological characters and six genes (Perrard et al. 2013 ) ( Figure 1 ).…”

De Novo Transcriptomic Resources in the Brain of Vespa velutina for Invasion Control

“…However, the development of these markers is costly and difficult in a species lacking genome information, such as Vespa velutina. In Vespa velutina, mitochondrial DNA sequencing [20][21][22] and microsatellite-enriched libraries [23] have been constructed and have aided the development of mtDNA and microsatellite markers used in the detection of hornet invasion, but these molecular markers are small scale and not very suitable for evolutionary and phylogenetic studies [41]. Our transcriptome data has provided various and reliable marker resources on the genome-wide scale.…”

“…Hornet behavior [4,[15][16][17] and olfactory systems [13,18,19] are areas of active research for developing control strategies, but little is known about the molecular level characteristics of Vespa velutina. Although molecular markers, such as mitochondrial DNA sequences [20][21][22] and microsatellites [23], have already been used to identify Vespa velutina samples [24] and define their distribution area [25,26], molecular-genomic tools are rarely used for hornet control. The key design points for molecular-genomic approaches are the selection of target genes encoding essential proteins/enzymes of important physiological pathways [27]; however, the lack of genome information, functional gene annotation, and molecular markers restricts the employment of target genes against Vespa velutina to ensure a prolonged and sufficient incapacitation of the pest.…”