In the present study, we report the first complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of the Painted Jezebel,
Delias hyparete
. The mitogenome of
Delias hyparete is 15 186 bp in length, and has typical sets of 37 genes: 13 protein-coding genes
(PCGs), 2 ribosomal RNAs, 22 transfer RNAs and a non-coding A+T-rich region. All protein-coding genes are initiated by ATN
codons, except for
COI, which is tentatively designated by the CGA codon, as observed in other butterfly species. A total of 10 PCGs
harbored the complete termination codon TAA or TAG, while the
COI,
COII and
ND5 genes ended at a single T residue. All 22 tRNA
genes show typical clover structures, with the exception of the tRNA
Ser(AGN) which lacks the dihydrouridine (DHU) stem and is
instead replaced by a simple loop. Thirteen intergenic spacers totaling 153 bp, and 13 overlapping regions totaling 46 bp are scattered
throughout the whole genome. The 377 bp long of
D. hyparete A+T-rich region is not comprised of large repetitive sequences, but
harbors several features characteristic of the lepidopteran insects, including the motif ATAGA followed by an 18 bp poly-T stretch, a
microsatellite-like (AT)
5 element preceded by the ATTTA motif, an 10 bp polyA-like stretch (AAAAATAAAA) present immediately
upstream tRNA
Met.
