title: The mitochondrial genome of the land snail Cernuella virgata (Da Costa, 1778): the first complete sequence in the family Hygromiidae (Pulmonata, Stylommatophora).
abstract: The land snail Cernuella virgata (da Costa, 1778) is widely considered as a pest to be quarantined in most countries. In this study, the complete mitochondrial genome of Cernuella virgata is published. The mitochondrial genome has a length of 14,147 bp a DNA base composition of 29.07% A, 36.88% T, 15.59% C and 18.46% G, encoding 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes and two ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes. The complete nucleotide composition was biased toward adenine and thymine, A+T accounting for 69.80%. Nine PCGs and 14 tRNA genes are encoded on the J strand, and the other four PCGs and eight tRNA genes are encoded on the N strand. The genome also includes 16 intergenic spacers. All PCGs start strictly with ATN, and have conventional stop codons (TAA and TAG). All tRNAs fold into the classic cloverleaf structure, except tRNA(Arg) , tRNA(Ser(UCN)) , tRNA(Ser(AGN)) and tRNA(Pro) . The first three lack the dihydrouridine arm while the last lacks the TψC arm. There are 502 bp long noncoding regions and 418bp long gene overlaps in the whole mitochondrial genome, accounting for 3.54% and 2.95% of the total length respectively. Phylogenetic analyses based on the sequences of the protein coding genes revealed a sister group relationship between the Hygromiidae and the Helicidae.
authors.affiliation: College of Plant Protection, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China.
authors.forename: Jun-Hong
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Molluscan Quarantine and Identification of AQSIQ, Fujian Entry-Exit Inspection & Quarantine Bureau, Fuzhou, Fujian 350001, China.
authors.forename: Wei-Chuan
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: College of Plant Protection, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China.
authors.forename: Hong-Li
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Molluscan Quarantine and Identification of AQSIQ, Fujian Entry-Exit Inspection & Quarantine Bureau, Fuzhou, Fujian 350001, China.
authors.forename: Pei
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: College of Plant Protection, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China.
authors.forename: Hong-Mu
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Ai
keywords: DNA sequencing; phylogeny; plant quarantine; secondary structure; white snail