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The Mitochondrial Sequences of Heptathela hangzhouensis and Ornithoctonus huwena Reveal Unique Gene Arrangements and Atypical tRNAs

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Abstract

We have sequenced the complete mitochondrial genomes of the spiders Heptathela hangzhouensis and Ornithoctonus huwena. Both genomes encode 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, and 2 ribosomal RNA genes. H. hangzhouensis, a species of the suborder Mesothelae and a representative of the most basal clade of Araneae, possesses a gene order identical to that of Limulus polyphemus of Xiphosura. On the other hand, O. huwena, a representative of suborder Opisthothelae, infraorder Mygalomorphae, was found to have seven tRNA genes positioned differently from those of Limulus. The rrnL–trnL1–nad1 arrangement shared by the araneomorph families Salticidae, Nesticidae, and Linyphiidae and the mygalomorph family Theraphosidae is a putative synapomorphy joining the mygalomorph with the araneomorph. Between the two species examined, base compositions also differ significantly. The lengths of most protein-coding genes in H. hangzhouensis and O. huwena mtDNA are either identical to or slightly shorter than their Limulus counterparts. Usage of initiation and termination codons in these protein-coding genes seems to follow patterns conserved among most arthropod and some other metazoan mitochondrial genomes. The sequences of the 3′ ends of rrnS and rrnL in the two species are similar to those reported for Limulus, and the entire genes are shortened by about 100–250 nucleotides with respect to Limulus. The lengths of most tRNA genes from the two species are distinctly shorter than those of Limulus and the sequences reveal unusual inferred tRNA secondary structures. Our finding provides new molecular evidence supporting that the suborder Mesothelae is basal to opisthothelids.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Fengxiang Liu of Hubei University for providing the specimens of H. hangzhouensis. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Key Project No. 30130040).

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  1. Jiangsu Key Lab for Bioresource Technology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210097, P.R., China

    Yang Qiu, Daxiang Song, Kaiya Zhou & Hongying Sun

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  1. Yang Qiu
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Correspondence to Kaiya Zhou.

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Qiu, Y., Song, D., Zhou, K. et al. The Mitochondrial Sequences of Heptathela hangzhouensis and Ornithoctonus huwena Reveal Unique Gene Arrangements and Atypical tRNAs. J Mol Evol 60, 57–71 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00239-004-0010-2

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