The complete mitogenome of the potentially invasive flatworm Australopacifica atrata (Platyhelminthes, Geoplanidae) displays unusual features common to other Rhynchodeminae

Abstract

We sequenced the complete mitochondrial genome of the flatworm Australopacifica atrata. The species, originally described from New South Wales, Australia, has been found in various locations in the British Isles, New Zealand and in the United States of America; it is thus potentially invasive. The genome is 16513 bp long, encodes for 12 protein coding genes, two ribosomal RNA genes and 20 tRNA genes, and is completely colinear with the other two available Rhynchodeminae. In addition, it shares with them some unusual characters discriminating them from members of the other subfamilies of Geoplanidae, the most noticeable being the extra length of its cox2 gene. The data allow a reliable multigene phylogeny to be derived, and also provide a means of accurate biomonitoring of possible invasiveness by A. atrata.