The Complete Mitochondrial Genome of the Chinese White Wax Scale Insect, Ericerus pela Chavannes (Hemiptera: Coccidae), with Novel Gene Arrangement and Truncated tRNA Genes

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Ericerus pela Chavannes (Hemiptera: Coccoidea) is one of the most economically valuable resource insects in China. Its mitochondrial genome provides essential information for the molecular identification and genetic study of this species. In this paper, we assembled the mitochondrial genome of E. pela. Gene rearrangement analysis showed that compared to other scale insects, E. pela’s atp6, atp8, and a few tRNAs were obviously rearranged. Moreover, there were nine tRNAs identified to have obvious truncated structures. Synteny analysis based on the whole mitochondrial genomes showed that a significant rearrangement of homologous blocks had occurred within this Coccoidea species. The results revealed great variations in the intergenic regions among Coccoidea species and novel gene arrangement and truncated tRNA genes in the mitochondrial genome of E. pela. ABSTRACT: The Chinese white wax scale insect, Ericerus pela Chavannes (Hemiptera: Coccidae), is one of the scale insects with great economic value and has been dispersed and reared in China for over one thousand years. Its mitochondrial genome provides essential information for the molecular identification and genetic study of this species. We assembled the complete mitochondrial genome of E. pela based on PacBio sequencing and analyzed its genomic features. The genome was 17,766 bp in length with 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNAs, and two rRNA genes. The analysis results showed E. pela had significant gene rearrangements involving tRNAs compared with other Coccoidea species. Furthermore, E. pela’s nine tRNAs were identified to have obvious truncated structures. The phylogenetic tree compiled of the species showed a long branch of the Coccoidea lineage, which indicated the high evolutionary rate in this group. Our study revealed the mitochondrial characteristics of E. pela and enriched the mitochondrial genetic information on Coccoidea species. It also determined the occurrence of gene rearrangement for the species in this superfamily.