The near complete mitochondrial genome of the Giant honey bee, Apis dorsata (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Apinae) and its phylogenetic status

In this report, we sequenced and characterized the near complete mitochondrial genome of Apis dorsata collected from Mizoram, India. For sequencing of the complete mitochondrial genome, Illumina NextSeq500 platform was used. The near complete mitochondrial genome was assembled to be 15 076 bplong and contains the same gene order as the other honey bees. The assembly contains 13 protein coding genes, 21 transfer RNA, 2 ribosomal RNA and a partial control (A + T-rich) region estimated to be 75 bp. This is the first near complete sequenced mitochondrial genome from the giant honeybee A. dorsata which will benefit future genomics studies for understanding the phylogenetic relationship within the bee family.