The first complete mitochondrial genome of Sphaeniscus atilius (Walker, 1849) (Diptera: Tephritidae) and implications for the phylogenetic relationships of Tephritidae

The nearly complete mitochondrial genome of Sphaeniscus atilius was characterized and annotated in this study. The mitogenome was 16,854 bp in length and encoded 37 typical mitochondrial genes, including 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes, and a control region. The total length of the 13 PCGs was 11,140 bp, and the AT content was 79.8%. There were five types of start codons, ATT (nad2, nad3, nad5, and nad6), ATG (cox2, cox3, atp6, nad4, nad4l, and cob), CGA (cox1), as well as ATC (atp8) and ATA (nad1). Most of the PCGs had typical TAA stop codons, except nad5 which terminated with incomplete forms T-. Ile, Phe, Leu and Asn were the most frequently used amino acids in mitochondrial PCGs. Most tRNA genes could be folded into the typical cloverleaf structure, except trnS1 and trnT which lacked the dihydrouridine (DHU) and T{Psi}C arms, respectively. Phylogenetic analyses based on 13 protein-coding genes among the available sequenced species of family Tephritidae by maximum likelihood methods suggested the genus relationship of Tephritidae: ((Bactrocera, Dacus, Zeugodacus), Felderimyia, Anastrepha), (Acrotaeniostola, (Neoceratitis, Ceratitis), Euleia, Rivellia), (Procecidochares, (Tephritis, Sphaenisscus))))). Our results presented the first mitogenome from Sphaeniscus and offer insights into the identification, taxonomy, and phylogeny of Sphaeniscus atilius.