PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Najer, Tomáš
AU  - Doña, Jorge
AU  - Buček, Aleš
AU  - Sweet, Andrew D.
AU  - Sychra, Oldřich
AU  - Johnson, Kevin P.
TI  - Mitogenome fragmentation evolves multiple times within a major group of parasitic lice
AID  - 10.1101/2023.06.22.546119
DP  - 2023 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 2023.06.22.546119
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2023/06/26/2023.06.22.546119.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2023/06/26/2023.06.22.546119.full
AB  - Animal mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) typically exhibit a highly conserved gene content and organisation, with genes encoded on a single circular chromosome. However, many species of parasitic lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera) are notable exceptions, having mitogenomes fragmented into multiple circular chromosomes. To further understand the process of mitogenome fragmentation, we conducted a large-scale genomic study of a major group of lice, Amblycera. Using genomic information on mitogenome structure and a phylogenomic tree for 90 samples of this group, we found evidence for multiple independent origins of mitogenome fragmentation, some inferred to have occurred less than five million years ago. In addition, the base composition of mitogenomes in Amblycera shows less AT bias than other insects, and fragmentation is related to this reduction of AT bias. By combining phylogenomics and mitochondrial genomics, we provide a detailed portrait of mitogenome evolution across this major group of insects. The evidence of repeated and ongoing fragmentation represents a substantial advance in understanding the repeated nature of this process in lice.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.