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Issue: Vol. 5523 No. 2: 15 Oct. 2024
Type: Article
Published: 2024-10-15
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5523.2.4
Page range: 211-221
Abstract views: 326
PDF downloaded: 145

The terrestrial flatworm Microplana scharffi (Geoplanidae, Microplaninae): mitochondrial genome, phylogenetic proximity to the Bipaliinae and genes related to regeneration

Institute of Marine and Environmental Sciences; University of Szczecin; Szczecin; Poland
Sustainable Agri-Food Sciences Division; Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute; Belfast; BT9 5PX; Northern Ireland
Département Adaptations du Vivant (AVIV); Molécules de Communication et Adaptation des Microorganismes (MCAM; UMR 7245 CNRS); Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle; CNRS; CP 52; 57 rue Cuvier; 75231 Paris Cedex 05; France
College of Science and Engineering; James Cook University of North Queensland; Townsville; Queensland; Australia
ISYEB; Institut de Systématique; Évolution; Biodiversité (UMR7205 CNRS; EPHE; MNHN; UPMC; Université des Antilles); Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle; CP 51; 55 rue Buffon; 75231 Paris Cedex 05; France
Platyhelminthes Mitogenome endemic terrestrial flatworm multiprotein phylogeny

Abstract

A genome skimming approach of sequencing was undertaken on a subfamily of terrestrial flatworms that had been neglected in genomic studies until now, namely the Microplaninae as represented here by Microplana scharffi. A single run of short-read sequencing enabled retrieval of the complete mitogenome, the two paralogous versions of the 18S gene, the elongation factor gene EF1α, plus two genes involved in the regeneration process, namely those coding for ß-CATENIN-1 and adenomatous polyposis coli (APC). The 15,297 bp mitogenome lacks a functional tRNA-Ala and has a mandatory alternative TTG start codon in its cox1 gene. The multiprotein phylogeny, inferred from mitogenome proteins, positions M. scharffi as sister-group to the Bipaliinae with maximum support, although the organisation of the mitogenomes shows features previously never observed among Bipaliinae, such as the conserved 32 bp overlap between ND4 and ND4L. Similarly to what has been observed in recent publications on other species of Geoplanidae, the two types of 18S genes display strongly different coverages and are only 90.57% identical. Additionally, alien DNA was identified in the pool of contigs in the form of the complete mitochondrial genome of Lumbricus rubellus, confirming previous observations on the feeding habits of M. scharffi.

 

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