Complete mitochondrial genome of the firefly Luciola parvula Kiesenwetter (Coleoptera, Lampyridae) from Japan and its phylogenetic analyses

We have sequenced the complete mitochondrial genome of the firefly Luciola parvula Kiesenwetter, 1874 (Coleoptera, Lampyridae, Luciolinae) from Niigata Prefecture, Honshu, Japan, and inferred the Luciolinae phylogeny. The circular genome of 16,685 bp (GenBank accession number, LC677171) has a base composition of A (43.52%), C (13.21%), G (8.52%) and T (34.74%). Our sequence is similar to other Metazoa, which contains 13 protein coding genes (PCGs), 2 rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes and D-loop. Molecular phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial whole genome sequences revealed L. parvula as a sister group of (L. unmunsana [MT134039] + L. parvula [OL944082]). Identity of the two L. parvula sequences (LC677171 and OL944082) is only 90.5% (14,064/15,537 bp), suggesting the two L. parvula might be different species. Further taxonomical examination including morphological analyses should be required to test if the two populations are different species.