The complete mitochondrial genome of Melanargia asiatica (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Satyrinae).

We sequenced the complete mitochondrial genome of Melanargia asiatica (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Satyrinae). The entire closed circular molecule is 15,142 bp long, containing 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, 2 rRNA genes and a AT-rich region. All protein-coding genes (PCGs) initiate with the typical start codons ATN, with the exception of cox1, which uses CGA instead. Nine PCGs use the conventional stop codons (TAA) and the other four genes (cox1, cox2, nad4 and nad5) use a single T as the stop codon. All tRNA genes display typical secondary cloverleaf structures, except for trnS1 (AGN), whose dihydrouridine (DHU) arm is replaced by a simple loop, as observed in all other lepidopterans. The AT-rich region is 319 bp in length and contains some features characteristic of lepidopterans, such as the ATAGA motif followed by a 19-bp poly-T stretch and a microsatellite-like repeat of (TA)6T(TA) preceded by the ATTTA motif.