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Insects
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Insect Mitogenome, Phylogeny, and Mitochondrial Genome Expression
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Insect Mitogenome, Phylogeny, and Mitochondrial Genome Expression

A special issue of Insects (ISSN 2075-4450). This special issue belongs to the section "Insect Molecular Biology and Genomics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2025 | Viewed by 5193

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Danna Yu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China
Interests: mitochondrial genome; molecular evolution; molecular clock; mitochondrial gene expression
Prof. Dr. Jiayong Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Chemistry and Life Sciences, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China
Interests: gene rearrangement; mitochondrial genome; molecular evolution; mitochondrial gene expression
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Increasingly, the mitochondrial genomes of insects can be relatively easily obtained using high-throughput sequencing technology and, at the same time, mitochondrial gene expression in different insect species has emerged as a topic of great interest and a new research direction. This Special Issue of Insects seeks to attract more papers related to insect molecular evolution using mitochondrial genomics. Please note, this Special I. We hope to encourage authors to submit the papers focused on the mitochondrial gene expression of insects under different levels of environmental stress; for example, environmental pollutants or extreme temperatures. In this Special Issue, we also welcome works that explore the mitochondrial genomes of other polypod arthropoda such as centipedes, diplopods, or common house centipedes.

Dr. Danna Yu
Prof. Dr. Jiayong Zhang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Insects is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • mitogenome
  • gene arrangement
  • phylogenetic relationship
  • phylogeny
  • mitochondrial gene expression
  • mitochondrial genome expression
  • molecular evolution

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 3057 KiB  
Article
Complete Mitochondrial Genome Characterization and Phylogenomics of the Stingless Bee, Heterotrigona itama (Apidae: Meliponini)
by Orawan Duangphakdee, Pisit Poolprasert and Atsalek Rattanawannee
Insects 2025, 16(5), 535; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects16050535 - 19 May 2025
Viewed by 223
Abstract
With increasing demand for stingless bee honey, meliponiculture has gained widespread attention. Heterotrigona itama is one of the most economically important species. However, excessive exploitation for commercial purposes has led to population declines, and the species is now considered vulnerable in Thailand. Despite [...] Read more.
With increasing demand for stingless bee honey, meliponiculture has gained widespread attention. Heterotrigona itama is one of the most economically important species. However, excessive exploitation for commercial purposes has led to population declines, and the species is now considered vulnerable in Thailand. Despite its ecological and economic significance, genomic and taxonomic information on H. itama remains limited. In this study, we sequenced and characterized the complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of H. itama to explore its genome structure and phylogenetic position. The circular mitogenome is 15,318 bp in length and consists of 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, and 2 ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes. The genome exhibits a strong A+T bias (75.41%), which affects codon usage and amino acid composition. Isoleucine, methionine, and phenylalanine were the most commonly encoded amino acids. Gene arrangement was highly conserved and closely resembled that of Tetragonula species. Phylogenetic analyses confirmed that H. itama clusters with other stingless bees and is more closely related to bumblebees than to honeybees. Several gene rearrangements suggest a high degree of mitogenomic plasticity. This study provides essential genomic resources for future studies in systematics, phylogenetics, population genetics, and conservation of stingless bees in the Meliponini tribe. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Insect Mitogenome, Phylogeny, and Mitochondrial Genome Expression)
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20 pages, 2253 KiB  
Article
Molecular Assessment of Genes Linked to Honeybee Health Fed with Different Diets in Nuclear Colonies
by Worrel A. Diedrick, Lambert H. B. Kanga, Rachel Mallinger, Manuel Pescador, Islam Elsharkawy and Yanping Zhang
Insects 2025, 16(4), 374; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects16040374 - 2 Apr 2025
Viewed by 534
Abstract
Honeybees are of economic importance not only for honey production, but also for crop pollination, which amounts to USD 20 billion per year in the United States. However, the number of honeybee colonies has declined more than 40% during the last few decades. [...] Read more.
Honeybees are of economic importance not only for honey production, but also for crop pollination, which amounts to USD 20 billion per year in the United States. However, the number of honeybee colonies has declined more than 40% during the last few decades. Although this decline is attributed to a combination of factors (parasites, diseases, pesticides, and nutrition), unlike other factors, the effect of nutrition on honeybee health is not well documented. In this study, we assessed the differential expression of seven genes linked to honeybee health under three different diets. These included immune function genes [Cactus, immune deficiency (IMD), Spaetzle)], genes involved in nutrition, cellular defense, longevity, and behavior (Vitellogenin, Malvolio), a gene involved in energy metabolism (Maltase), and a gene associated with locomotory behavior (Single-minded). The diets included (a) commercial pollen patties and sugar syrup, (b) monofloral (anise hyssop), and (c) polyfloral (marigold, anise hyssop, sweet alyssum, and basil). Over the 2.7-month experimental periods, adult bees in controls fed pollen patties and sugar syrup showed upregulated Cactus (involved in Toll pathway) and IMD (signaling pathway controls antibacterial defense) expression, while their counterparts fed monofloral and polyfloral diets downregulated the expression of these genes. Unlike Cactus and IMD, the gene expression profile of Spaetzle (involved in Toll pathway) did not differ across treatments during the experimental period except that it was significantly downregulated on day 63 and day 84 in bees fed polyfloral diets. The Vitellogenin gene indicated that monofloral and polyfloral diets significantly upregulated this gene and enhanced lifespan, foraging behavior, and immunity in adult bees fed with monofloral diets. The expression of Malvolio (involved in sucrose responsiveness and foraging behavior) was upregulated when food reserves (pollen and nectar) were limited in adult bees fed polyfloral diets. Adult bees fed with monofloral diets significantly upregulated the expression of Maltase (involved in energy metabolisms) compared to their counterparts in control diets to the end of the experimental period. Single-Minded Homolog 2 (involved in locomotory behavior) was also upregulated in adult bees fed pollen patties and sugar syrup compared to their counterparts fed monofloral and polyfloral diets. Thus, the food source significantly affected honeybee health and triggered an up- and downregulation of these genes, which correlated with the health and activities of the honeybee colonies. Overall, we found that the companion crops (monofloral and polyfloral) provided higher nutritional benefits to enhance honeybee health than the pollen patty and sugar syrup used currently by beekeepers. Furthermore, while it has been reported that bees require pollen from diverse sources to maintain a healthy physiology and hive, our data on nuclear colonies indicated that a single-species diet (such as anise hyssop) is nutritionally adequate and better or comparable to polyfloral diets. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report indicating better nutritional benefits from monofloral diets (anise hyssop) over polyfloral diets for honeybee colonies (nucs) in semi-large-scale experimental runs. Thus, we recommend that the landscape of any apiary include highly nutritious food sources, such as anise hyssop, throughout the season to enhance honeybee health. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Insect Mitogenome, Phylogeny, and Mitochondrial Genome Expression)
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14 pages, 6191 KiB  
Article
First Report and Phylogenetic Analysis of Mitochondrial Genomes of Chrysomya villeneuvi and Sarcophaga genuforceps
by Fengqin Yang, Jiao Xiao, Xiangyan Zhang, Yanjie Shang and Yadong Guo
Insects 2025, 16(1), 26; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects16010026 - 29 Dec 2024
Viewed by 866
Abstract
The mitochondrial genome, highly conserved across species, is crucial for species identification, phylogenetic analysis, and evolutionary research. Chrysomya villeneuvi and Sarcophaga genuforceps, two species with significant forensic value, have been understudied in terms of genetic data. In this study, the complete mitochondrial [...] Read more.
The mitochondrial genome, highly conserved across species, is crucial for species identification, phylogenetic analysis, and evolutionary research. Chrysomya villeneuvi and Sarcophaga genuforceps, two species with significant forensic value, have been understudied in terms of genetic data. In this study, the complete mitochondrial genomes of C. villeneuvi (15,623 bp) and S. genuforceps (15,729 bp) were sequenced and analyzed. All thirteen protein-coding genes (PCGs) exhibited Ka/Ks ratios below one, indicating purifying selection and supporting their utility as barcoding markers. Phylogenetic analysis and genetic distance calculations based on PCGs showed that C. villeneuvi is closely related to Chrysomya rufifacies and Chrysomya albiceps, and S. genuforceps aligns more closely with Sarcophaga kentejana and Sarcophaga schuetzei. This research is the first to provide mitochondrial genome data for C. villeneuvi and S. genuforceps, expanding the genetic resources available for Calliphoridae and Sarcophagidae and offering a foundation for further forensic and evolutionary studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Insect Mitogenome, Phylogeny, and Mitochondrial Genome Expression)
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16 pages, 4164 KiB  
Article
Phylogenetic and Comparative Genomics Study of Cephalopina titillator Based on Mitochondrial Genomes
by Huaibing Yao, Wanpeng Ma, Zhanqiang Su, Yuanyuan Yan, Yang Li, Weidong Cui, Jie Yang, Faqiang Zhan and Min Hou
Insects 2025, 16(1), 6; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects16010006 - 26 Dec 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 903
Abstract
Camel bot fly (Cephalopina titillator) larvae cause myiasis in domesticated and wild camels, resulting in significant economic losses to the camel industry and posing a serious global public health concern. To date, only one mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of C. titillator isolated [...] Read more.
Camel bot fly (Cephalopina titillator) larvae cause myiasis in domesticated and wild camels, resulting in significant economic losses to the camel industry and posing a serious global public health concern. To date, only one mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of C. titillator isolated from the Alxa Bactrian camel has been reported. Herein, C. titillator was isolated from the Junggar Bactrian camel to assemble a complete circular mitogenome with a length of 16,552 bp encoding 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, and two rRNA genes. The mitogenome showed a high A + T content (73.31%), positive AT-skew (0.12), and negative GC-skew (−0.34) base composition patterns. All protein-coding genes (PCGs) employed ATG, ATA, ATT, GTG, or TCG as the start codons and TAA, TAG, or single T as the stop codons. Similar to other parasites in the Oestridae subfamily, the mitogenome was structurally conserved, with genes retaining the same order and direction as those in the ancestral insect mitogenome. The phylogenetic analysis clustered this species with the Oestrinae, showing that the subfamily did not exhibit monophyly. C. titillator isolated from the Junggar Bactrian camel was found to be a sister lineage to that isolated from the Alxa Bactrian camel. Despite the lack of data on the mitogenome of C. titillator isolated from dromedaries in the Middle East, phylogenetic analysis of C. titillator isolated from Xinjiang revealed one distinct lineage of the Xinjiang camel nasal bot fly. In conclusion, this study reports the complete mitogenome of Xinjiang C. titillator for the first time, providing valuable data for future studies on the phylogenetic relationships in this subfamily. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Insect Mitogenome, Phylogeny, and Mitochondrial Genome Expression)
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19 pages, 12126 KiB  
Article
Insight into the Phylogenetic Relationships of Phasmatodea and Selection Pressure Analysis of Phraortes liaoningensis Chen & He, 1991 (Phasmatodea: Lonchodidae) Using Mitogenomes
by Yuxin Chen, Yani Yuan, Wenhui Yang, Kenneth B. Storey, Jiayong Zhang and Danna Yu
Insects 2024, 15(11), 858; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects15110858 - 3 Nov 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1807
Abstract
Stick and leaf insects are a group among the Insecta that are famous for their extraordinary mimicry ability. Since the establishment of the Phasmatodea, their internal classification has been constantly revised. Mitochondrial genes as molecular markers have been widely used for species classification, [...] Read more.
Stick and leaf insects are a group among the Insecta that are famous for their extraordinary mimicry ability. Since the establishment of the Phasmatodea, their internal classification has been constantly revised. Mitochondrial genes as molecular markers have been widely used for species classification, but the phylogenetic relationships within the Phasmatodea remain to be thoroughly discussed. In the present study, five mitogenomes of Phasmatodea ranging from 15,746 bp to 16,747 bp in length were sequenced. Bayesian inference (BI) and maximum likelihood (ML) analyses were carried out based on a 13 PCGs data matrix (nt123) and a combined matrix of 13 PCGs and two rRNA genes (nt123_rRNA). The present study supports the conclusion that Phylliidae was the basal group of Neophasmatodea and confirms the monophyly of Lonchodinae and Necrosciinae, but it shows that Lonchodidae was polyphyletic. A sister group of Bacillidae and Pseudophasmatidae was also recovered. The phylogenetic tree based on the nt_123 dataset showed higher node support values. The construction of a divergent time tree in this study supported the conclusion that extant Phasmatodea originated in the Jurassic (170 Mya) and most lineages diverged after the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. To explore whether the mitochondrial genes of Phraortes liaoningensis collected from high latitudes where low temperatures occur for eight months of the year are under selection pressure, this study used the branch-site model and the branch model to analyze the selection pressure on the 13 mitochondria protein-coding genes (PCGs). We found that both ND2 and ND4L of Ph. liaoningensis exhibited positive selection sites using the branch-site model. This study shows that a low-temperature environment causes mitochondrial genes to be selected to meet the energy requirements for survival. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Insect Mitogenome, Phylogeny, and Mitochondrial Genome Expression)
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