The complete mitochondrial genome of Tonkinacris sinensis(Orthoptera: Acrididae): A tRNA-like sequence and its implications for phylogeny

The complete mitochondrial genome of Tonkinacris sinensis is 15,627 bp long and contains13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 tRNA genes, 2 rRNA genes and one A + T-rich region. The gene order and orientation are identical to those of other Orthoptera species, containing the rearrangement of trnD and trnK. Intriguingly, a tRNASer-like gene exists on the N strand between the trnSUCN and nad1 genes. The length of this gene is 110 bp, and it has a typical clover-leaf structure, an anticodon, and a high cove score (23.49). On its clover-leaf structure, on the anticodon arm, there is a 41 bp intron with an unknown function. Here, phylogenetic analysis was conducted based on 13 PCGs of 30 species from 9 subfamilies of Acrididae to understand their phylogenetic relationships. According to the phylogenetic tree, the relationship among the 9 subfamilies within Acrididae was as follows: (Spathosterninae + (Oxyinae + (Catantopinae + (Calliptaminae + (Cyrtacanthacridinae + (Melanoplinae + (Gomphocerinae + (Oedipodinae + Acridinae)))))))).