Abstract
Nilaparvata lugens is the main rice pest in India. Until now, the Indian N. lugens mitochondrial genome has not been sequenced, which is a very important basis for population genetics and phylogenetic evolution studies. An attempt was made to sequence two examples of the whole mitochondrial genome of N. lugens biotype 4 from the Indian population for the first time. The mitogenomes of N. lugens are 16,072 and 16,081 bp long with 77.50% and 77.45% A + T contents, respectively, for both of the samples. The mitochondrial genome of N. lugens contains 37 genes, including 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs) (cox1-3, atp6, atp8, nad1-6, nad4l, and cob), 22 transfer RNA genes, and two ribosomal RNA (rrnS and rrnL) subunits genes, which are typical of metazoan mitogenomes. However, both samples of N. lugens mitogenome in the present study retained one extra copy of the trnC gene. Additionally, we also found 93 bp lengths for the atp8 gene in both of the samples, which were 60-70 bp less than that of the other sequenced mitogenomes of hemipteran insects. The phylogenetic analysis of the 19 delphacids mitogenome dataset yielded two identical topologies when rooted with Ugyops sp. in one clade, and the remaining species formed another clade with P. maidis and M. muiri being sisters to the remaining species. Further, the genus Nilaparvata formed a separate subclade with the other genera (Sogatella, Laodelphax, Changeondelphax, and Unkanodes) of Delphacidae. Additionally, the relationship among the biotypes of N. lugens was recovered as the present study samples (biotype-4) were separated from the three biotypes reported earlier. The present study provides the reference mitogenome for N. lugens biotype 4 that may be utilized for biotype differentiation and molecular-aspect-based future studies of N. lugens.