Complete mitochondrial genome of the super mealworm Zophobas atratus (Fab.) (Insecta: Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)

Abstract

The complete mitochondrial genome of Zophobas atratus (Fab.) (= Z. morio (Fab.), Z. rugipes Kirsch) is a circular molecule of 15,494 bp (GenBank accession MK140669), with 72.01% A + T content, which comprises 13 protein-coding-, 22 tRNA-, and 2 rDNA-genes. The protein-coding genes have the traditional ATN (Met) initiation codon and are terminated by the traditional stop codon, TAA, except for the nad1 and nad4 genes. A phylogenetic tree based on maximum-likelihood analysis showed that Z. atratus is closely related to Ulomoides dermestoides, an important component of traditional Chinese medicine.