Identification of the exuviae of larva from Teinopalpus aureus Mell, 1923 using the complete mitochondrial genome [version 1; peer review: 2 approved with reservations]

Teinopalpus aureus Mell (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) is distributed throughout China, Vietnam and Laos, and is listed as a Class I species in China. To identify whether the exuviae of larva is belonging to Teinopalpus aureus Mell, 1923 or not, and to compare the gene structure and genetic differences among the known populations, ten mitogenomes of T. aureus from the exuviae of larva collected in the Michelia maudiae were sequenced. This method of sequencing the mitogenomes of exuviae of larva can give us the chance to monitor the conservation of rare butterflies. Ten mitogenomes of T. aureus showed typical gene arrangements and contained 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), two ribosomal RNA genes (12S rRNA and 16S rRNA), 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, and a non-coding control region (D-loop). The two haplotypes with one base different in T. aureus were found. We also conducted phylogenetic analyses including all different populations of T. aureus to assess the phylogenetic relationship of T. aureus. The lengths of the 12S rRNA and 16S rRNA genes from both haplotypes were 776 base pairs (bp) and 1,334 bp, respectively. The genetic distance of the ten samples was calculated as 0-0.000065 on the basis of the whole mitogenomes. T. aureus found in Taishun, Zhejiang province, China had a close phylogenetic relationship with the clade of T. aureus found in Pingshan, Jiangxi province, China, which was supported by neighbour-joining analysis.