Complete mitogenome of the giant panda tick Haemaphysalis longicornis (Ixodida: Ixodidae) and its phylogenetic implications

Abstract

Haemaphysalis longicornis (Ixodida: Ixodidae) is a common blood-feeding ectoparasite of the giant panda and poses significant health burden to wild and captive populations. In the present study, the complete mitogenome of the giant panda tick H. longicornis was sequenced using Illumina sequencing technology. The entire mitogenome was 14,706 bp in length and encoded 37 genes including 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNAs and two ribosomal RNAs. Phylogeny showed that four isolates of H. longicornis, regardless of host origins or locations, clustered together and had a closer relationship with Haemaphysalis hystricis than other Haemaphysalis species among the subfamily Haemaphysalinae of Ixodidae. The cumulative mitochondrial DNA resources provide insights into genetic and phylogenetic studies of Haemaphysalis ticks.

Complete Mitogenomes of Ticks Ixodes acutitarsus and Ixodes ovatus Parasitizing Giant Panda: Deep Insights into the Comparative Mitogenomic and Phylogenetic Relationship of Ixodidae Species

“…The mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) is a reliable marker for cryptic species identification, phylogenetic studies, and population genetics analysis, and has been widely used in animals [ 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 ], including in ticks [ 7 , 21 , 29 ]. In recent years, the number of sequenced mitogenomes of Ixodidae species has increased significantly, but the mitogenome studies on parasitic ticks of giant pandas have only been performed for three Haemaphysalis species [ 30 , 31 , 32 ]. The mitogenomes of another ten Ixodidae species infesting giant pandas have not been reported.…”

The complete mitochondrial genome of Eulaelaps huzhuensis (Mesostigmata: Haemogamasidae)

“…The short length of single genes contains limited phylogenetic information, and single genes have different abilities to reconstruct phylogenies in different biological groups, leading to difficulties in a true reflection of the phylogenetic relationships in species (Cheng et al 2013 ; Mirarab 2017 ; Jiang et al 2021 ). Thus, based on complete mitochondrial genomic data for phylogenetic analysis it is more comprehensive to reflect the molecular evolutionary level of species (Liu et al 2019 ; Wang et al 2019 , 2020 ). In this study, a phylogenetic tree was constructed based on 13 protein-coding genes using maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods with L. polyphemus and C. rotundicauda (Limulidae) as outgroups (Fig.…”