The Complete Mitogenomes of Three Grasshopper Species with Special Notes on the Phylogenetic Positions of Some Related Genera

Simple Summary The complete mitogenomes of three grasshopper species were sequenced and annotated. The phylogenetic positions of the genera Emeiacris and Choroedocus are clarified based on both complete mitogenome and morphological evidences. The results show that Emeiacris consistently has the closest relationship with the genus Paratonkinacris of the subfamily Melanoplinae, and Choroedocus has the closest relationship with the genus Shirakiacris of the subfamily Eyprepocnemidinae, respectively. In addition, the genera Conophymacris and Xiangelilacris, as well as Ranacris and Menglacris, are two pairs of the closest relatives, but their phylogenetic positions need further study to clarify. Clarifying phylogenetic position and reconstructing robust phylogeny of groups using various evidences are an eternal theme for taxonomy and systematics. In this study, the complete mitogenomes of Longzhouacris mirabilis, Ranacris albicornis, and Conophyma zhaosuensis were sequenced using next-generation sequencing (NGS), and the characteristics of the mitogenomes are presented briefly. The mitogenomes of the three species are all circular molecules with total lengths of 16,164 bp, 15,720 bp, and 16,190 bp, respectively. The gene structures and orders, as well as the characteristics of the mitogenomes, are similar to those of other published mitogenomes in Caelifera. The phylogeny of the main subfamilies of Acrididae with prosternal process was reconstructed using a selected dataset of mitogenome sequences under maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian inference (BI) frameworks. The results showed that the genus Emeiacris consistently fell into the subfamily Melanoplinae rather than Oxyinae, and the genus Choroedocus had the closest relationship with Shirackiacris of the subfamily Eyprepocnemidinae in both phylogenetic trees deduced from mitogenome protein coding genes (PCGs). This finding is entirely consistent with the morphological characters, which indicate that Emeiacris belongs to Melanoplinae and Choroedocus belongs to Eyprepocnemidinae. In addition, the genera Conophymacris and Xiangelilacris, as well as Ranacris and Menglacris, are two pairs of the closest relatives, but their phylogenetic positions need further study to clarify.

Automated summary

In this study, the complete mitogenomes of three grasshopper species were sequenced and annotated. The phylogenetic positions of the genera Emeiacris and Choroedocus were clarified based on both genetic and morphological evidence. The results provide insights into the relationships between these grasshopper species and their closest relatives.