The complete mitochondrial genome of
Apatura ilia
(GenBank accession no. JF437925) was determined
as a circular DNA molecule of 15 242 bp, with common genes of 13 putative proteins, 2 rRNAs, and 22 tRNAs and of the
same gene arrangement as in other sequenced lepidopterans. All protein-coding genes had the typical start codon ATN,
except for the COI’s using CGA as its start codon as previously demonstrated in other lepidopteran species. The
comparison of the nucleotide sequences of the
A. ilia mitogenome with ten other Nymphalidae species showed nearly
identical gene orientation and arrangement, with only a few alterations in non-coding fragments. The nucleotide
composition and codon frequency all fell into the range estimated for the order Lepidoptera. The
A. ilia mitochondrial
genome had the canonical set of 22 tRNA genes folded in the typical cloverleaf structure, with an unique exception of
tRNA
Ser (AGN). The mitochondrial genes from
A. ilia were overlapped in a total of 33 bp at 9 locations, as well as
interleaved with a total of 155 bp intergenic spacers, spread over 12 regions with the size ranging from 1 to 49 bp.
Furthermore, the spacer between ND6 and Cyt
b harbored a microsatellite-like repeat (TA)
23 not found in other
completely sequenced nymphalid genomes. The 403 bp AT-rich region harbored two conserved motifs (ATAGA,
ATTTA), a 21 bp polyT stretch, a 10 bp poly-A region, along with two microsatellite-like repeats ( (TA)
10 and (TA)
7), as
detected in other nymphalid butterflies.
