The mitochondrial genome of the stingless bee Melipona bicolor (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponini): sequence, gene organization and a unique tRNA translocation event conserved across the tribe Meliponini

Autor(es)

Daniela Silvestre ^[1] ; Mark Dowton ^[2] ; Maria Cristina Arias ^[3]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Universidade de São Paulo. Instituto de Biociências. Departamento de Genética e Biologia Evolutiva - Brasil

^[2] The University of Wollongong. Department of Biology. Institute of Biomolecular Sciences and Conservation Biology

^[3] Universidade de São Paulo. Instituto de Biociências. Departamento de Genética e Biologia Evolutiva - Brasil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: GENETICS AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY; v. 31, n. 2, p. 451-460, 2008-00-00.

Resumo

At present a complete mtDNA sequence has been reported for only two hymenopterans, the Old World honey bee, Apis mellifera and the sawfly Perga condei. Among the bee group, the tribe Meliponini (stingless bees) has some distinction due to its Pantropical distribution, great number of species and large importance as main pollinators in several ecosystems, including the Brazilian rain forest. However few molecular studies have been conducted on this group of bees and few sequence data from mitochondrial genomes have been described. In this project, we PCR amplified and sequenced 78% of the mitochondrial genome of the stingless bee Melipona bicolor (Apidae, Meliponini). The sequenced region contains all of the 13 mitochondrial protein-coding genes, 18 of 22 tRNA genes, and both rRNA genes (one of them was partially sequenced). We also report the genome organization (gene content and order), gene translation, genetic code, and other molecular features, such as base frequencies, codon usage, gene initiation and termination. We compare these characteristics of M. bicolor to those of the mitochondrial genome of A. mellifera and other insects. A highly biased A+T content is a typical characteristic of the A. mellifera mitochondrial genome and it was even more extreme in that of M. bicolor. Length and compositional differences between M. bicolor and A. mellifera genes were detected and the gene order was compared. Eleven tRNA gene translocations were observed between these two species. This latter finding was surprising, considering the taxonomic proximity of these two bee tribes. The tRNA Lys gene translocation was investigated within Meliponini and showed high conservation across the Pantropical range of the tribe. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 99/10969-0 - Sequenciamento e análise do genoma mitocondrial da espécie Melipona bicolor (família Apidae, subfamília Meliponinae)
• Beneficiário: Daniela Silvestre
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Mestrado