Characterization of the complete mitochondrial genome of the myrmicine ant Vollenhovia emeryi (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

The myrmicine ant Vollenhovia emeryi is native to East Asia, but has recently become established in North America. In this study, its complete mitochondrial genome has been assembled from Illumina Miseq sequencing data with a good coverage (22.5X). The circular genome is 16,259 bp in length, and harbors 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 tRNA genes, two rRNAs genes and one control region. The control region is characterized by its remarkably high A + T content (90.61 %) and the presence of a repeat region (105 bp), which is composed of five 21-bp-long repeat motifs (‘TAATT ATATT ATATA TATCA T’). All PCGs are initiated with the typical ATN codons, and are terminated with either TAA or the incomplete TA(a)/T(aa) codon. The overall nucleotide composition is highly asymmetric (39.55 % A, 17.27 % C, 6.60 % G and 36.58 % T) with an overall A + T content of 76.13 %.