The Highly Divergent Mitochondrial Genomes Indicate That the Booklouse,Liposcelis bostrychophila(Psocoptera: Liposcelididae) Is a Cryptic Species

Abstract

The booklouse, Liposcelis bostrychophila is an important storage pest worldwide. The mitochondrial (mt) genome of an asexual strain (Beibei, China) of the L. bostrychophila comprises two chromosomes; each chromosome contains approximate half of the 37 genes typically found in bilateral animals. The mt genomes of two sexual strains of L. bostrychophila, however, comprise five and seven chromosomes, respectively; each chromosome contains one to six genes. To understand mt genome evolution in L. bostrychophila, and whether L. bostrychophila is a cryptic species, we sequenced the mt genomes of six strains of asexual L. bostrychophila collected from different locations in China, Croatia, and the United States. The mt genomes of all six asexual strains of L. bostrychophila have two chromosomes. Phylogenetic analysis of mt genome sequences divided nine strains of L. bostrychophila into four groups. Each group has a distinct mt genome organization and substantial sequence divergence (48.7–87.4%) from other groups. Furthermore, the seven asexual strains of L. bostrychophila, including the published Beibei strain, are more closely related to two other species of booklice, L. paeta and L. sculptilimacula, than to the sexual strains of L. bostrychophila. Our results revealed highly divergent mt genomes in the booklouse, L. bostrychophila, and indicate that L. bostrychophila is a cryptic species.

Genetics and Genomics of an Unusual Selfish Sex Ratio Distortion in an Insect

“…This gene is also integrated in the genome of Liposcelis bostrychophila, a parthenogenetic stored grain pest. The two Liposcelis species are not closely related [24], and it is likely that each acquired the Wolbachia gene independently; also, in addition to being absent from the nondistorter, we did not detect it in the transcriptome of the sexual L. entomophila. This gene is also integrated in the genome of the little fire ant Wasmannia auropunctata, which has an odd mode of reproduction [25], with both queens and males reproducing clonally via an unusual form of maternal genome elimination.…”

Nuclear Orthologs Derived from Whole Genome Sequencing Indicate Cryptic Diversity in the Bemisia tabaci (Insecta: Aleyrodidae) Complex of Whiteflies

“…However, within insects, several haplodiploid groups or those with paternal genome elimination [94][95][96][97][98] have been shown to have substantially higher mitochondrial DNA substitution rates. For instance, in thrips [99], scale insects [100], book lice [101], and parasitic lice [102], divergences among congeneric species range from 10-25%. Whiteflies are also haplodiploid [103] and elevated mitochondrial substitution rates may be an underlying biological artifact.…”

<p class="Body"><strong>The first complete mitochondrial genome of <em>Cheyletus malaccensis</em> (Acari: Cheyletidae): gene rearrangement</strong></p>

“…Trimmomatic v0.36 (Lohse et al 2012) was used to the remove adapter sequences. The mt genome assembly strategy followed Feng et al 2018. Briely, to reconstruct the mt genome, cox1 gene fragments were chosen as "anchors".…”