Tian-wen CAO’s research while affiliated with Institute of Plant Protection and other places

The complete mitochondrial genome of Apatura ilia (GenBank accession no. JF437925) was determined as a circular DNA molecule of 15 242 bp, with common genes of 13 putative proteins, 2 rRNAs, and 22 tRNAs and of the same gene arrangement as in other sequenced lepidopterans. All protein-coding genes had the typical start codon ATN, except for the COI's using CGA as its start codon as previously demonstrated in other lepidopteran species. The comparison of the nucleotide sequences of the A. ilia mitogenome with ten other Nymphalidae species showed nearly identical gene orientation and arrangement, with only a few alterations in non-coding fragments. The nucleotide composition and codon frequency all fell into the range estimated for the order Lepidoptera. The A. ilia mitochondrial genome had the canonical set of 22 tRNA genes folded in the typical cloverleaf structure, with an unique exception of tRNA(Ser) (AGN). The mitochondrial genes from A. ilia were overlapped in a total of 33 bp at 9 locations, as well as interleaved with a total of 155 bp intergenic spacers, spread over 12 regions with the size ranging from 1 to 49 bp. Furthermore, the spacer between ND6 and Cyt b harbored a microsatellite-like repeat (TA)(23) not found in other completely sequenced nymphalid genomes. The 403 bp AT-rich region harbored two conserved motifs (ATAGA, ATTTA), a 21 bp polyT stretch, a 10 bp poly-A region, along with two microsatellite-like repeats ( (TA)(10) and (TA)(7)), as detected in other nymphalid butterflies.

The phylogenetic analyses of the subfamily Limenitidinae are performed based on 1 471 bp of mtDNA cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene sequence data which were obtained from 21 individuals spanning 9 genera, along with those of 17 species obtained from GenBank, using Apatura iris, Aglais urticae, and Polyura dolon as outgroup species. Although the transitions at the third codon positions of the COI data set were highly saturated, they were still retained for analysis as they contain the majority of the phylogenetic information, and thus, the maximum pasimony (MP) under different weighting schemes and maximum likelihood (ML) trees were reconstructed in this study. The results showed that within this subfamily, the results based on the COI gene sequences are approximately identical to the traditional classification results. However, the clustering of Lexias pardalis and Tanaecia julii within the genus Euthalia as well as the clustering of Phaedyma aspasia within the genus Neptis with weak support are different from that of the current classification scheme made by Chinese scholars. The genus Limenitis is splited into two subclusters in the trees constructed by using MP and ML methods. These results support one of the strongest hypotheses for the tribe relationships within Limenitidinae.

The phylogenetic relationships of the subfamily Nymphalinae (sensu Chou 1994) were analyzed based on 1 488 bp of mtDNA cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene sequence data obtained from 24 individuals, along with those of eight species obtained from GenBank. The base compositions of this COI fragment varied among the individuals as follows: T 39.9%, C 14.6%, A 32.2%, and G 13.4%, with a strong AT bias (72.1%), as usually found in insect mitochondrial genomes. The A + T contents of the third, second, and first codon positions of the COI fragments in this study was 92.4, 62.2, and 61.4%, respectively. The phylogenetic trees were reconstructed by neighbor-joining (NJ), maximum likelihood (ML), and Bayesian methods by using Byblia anvatara as outgroup. Phylogenetic analyses based on the COI gene sequence data created very similar topologies, which were producing trees with two main clades A and B, and five subclades. The data indicated that the tribes Nymphalini and Hypolimni (sensu Chou 1994) are not monophyletic groups, and the genus Junonia should be removed from Nymphalini to Hypolimni (= Junoniini). On the basis of the data, the Symbrenthia and Araschnia had a relative distant relationship with the rest of Nymphalini. The relationships of species in the Nymphalini were confirmed via the NJ, ML, and Bayesian methods, namely ((((Nymphalis + Kaniska) + Polygonia) + Aglais) + Vanessa) + (Symbrenthia + Araschnia). This investigation provides a little novel information for Chinese researches of butterflies.