Complete mitochondrial genomes of two cockroaches, Blattella germanica and Periplaneta americana, and the phylogenetic position of termites.
The mitochondrial genomes are one of the most information-rich markers in phylogenetics. The relationships within superorder Dictyoptera have been debated in the literature. However, the closely related termites (Isoptera) are retained as unranked taxon within the order Blattaria (cockroaches). In this work, we sequenced the complete mitogenomes of two cockroaches, reconstructed the molecular phylogeny and attempted to infer the phylogenetic position of termites in Blattaria more reliably. The complete mtDNA nucleotide sequences of the peridomestic American cockroach (Periplaneta americana L.) and the domestic German cockroach (Blattella germanica L.) are 15,025 and 15,584 bp in size, respectively. The genome shares the gene order and orientation with previously known Blattaria mitogenomes. Most tRNAs could be folded into the typical cloverleaf secondary structure, but the tRNA-Ser (AGN) of P. americana appears to be missing the dihydrouridine arm. Using nucleotide and amino acid sequences as phylogenetic markers, we proposed that termites should be treated as a superfamily (Termitoidea) of cockroaches. We suggested that Polyphagoidea was the sister group of Termitoidea in Blattaria and supported that the suborder Caelifera is more closely related to the Phasmatodea than to the suborder Ensifera of Orthoptera.
Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity and Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Wenyuan Road 1, Nanjing 210046, China.
Bo
B
Xiao
Ai-Hui
AH
Chen
Yan-Yan
YY
Zhang
Guo-Fang
GF
Jiang
Chao-Chao
CC
Hu
Chao-Dong
CD
Zhu
D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D003058:Cockroaches / Q000235:genetics*; D023061:Gene Order; D054629:Genome, Mitochondrial; D020049:Isoptera / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010526:Periplaneta / Q000235:genetics*; D010802:Phylogeny