A peer-reviewed open-access journal ZooKeys 754: 127–139Characterization (2018) of the complete mitochondrial DNA of Theretra japonica... 127 doi: 10.3897/zookeys.754.23404 RESEARCH ARTICLE http://zookeys.pensoft.net Launched to accelerate biodiversity research Characterization of the complete mitochondrial DNA of Theretra japonica and its phylogenetic position within the Sphingidae (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) Jun Li1, Rui-Rui Lin1, Yao-Yao Zhang1, Kun-Jie Hu1, Ya-Qi Zhao1, Yan Li1, Zhuo-Ran Huang1, Xu Zhang1, Xue-Xia Geng1, Jian-Hua Ding1 1 School of Life Sciences, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei, China Corresponding author: Jian-Hua Ding (
[email protected]) Academic editor: Rodolphe Rougerie | Received 4 January 2018 | Accepted 3 April 2018 | Published 3 May 2018 http://zoobank.org/148A44C4-C211-4B84-97BC-4D22BBFF47F9 Citation: Li J, Lin R-R, Zhang Y-Y, Hu K-J, Zhao Y-Q, Li Y, Huang Z-R, Zhang X, Geng X-X, Ding J-H (2018) Characterization of the complete mitochondrial DNA of Theretra japonica and its phylogenetic position within the Sphingidae (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae). ZooKeys 754: 127–139. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.754.23404 Abstract In the present study, the complete mitogenome of Theretra japonicawas sequenced and compared with other sequenced mitogenomes of Sphingidae species. The mitogenome of T. japonica, containing 37 genes (13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, and two rRNA genes) and a region rich in adenine and thy- mine (AT-rich region), is a circular molecule with 15,399 base pairs (bp) in length. The order and orienta- tion of the genes in the mitogenome are similar to those of other sequenced mitogenomes of Sphingidae species.