The complete mitochondrial genome of the New Zealand parasitic blowfly Lucilia sericata (Insecta: Diptera: Calliphoridae)

Abstract

In this study, the complete mitochondrial (mt) genome of the New Zealand parasitic blowfly Lucilia sericata (green bottle blowfly) field strain NZ_LucSer_NP was generated using next-generation sequencing technology. The length of complete the mt genome is 15,938 bp, with 39.4% A, 13.0% C, 9.3% G, and 38.2% T nucleotide distribution. The complete mt genome consists of 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), two ribosomal RNAs, 22 transfer RNAs, and a 1124 bp non-coding region, similar to most metazoan mt genomes. Phylogenetic analysis showed that L. sericata NZ_LucSer_NP forms a monophyletic cluster with the remaining six Lucilia species and the Calliphoridae are polyphyletic. This study provides the first complete mt genome sequence for a L. sericata blowfly species derived from New Zealand to facilitate species identification and phylogenetic analysis.

Keywords

• diptera
• calliphoridae
• luciliinae
• complete mitochondrial genome
• lucilia sericata