The mitochondrial genome of Anopheles quadrimaculatus species A: complete nucleotide sequence and gene organization.

The complete sequence (15,455 bp) of the mitochondrial DNA of the mosquito Anopheles quadrimaculatus species A is reported. This genome is compact and very A+T rich (77.4% A+T). It contains genes for 2 ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs), 22 transfer RNAs (tRNAs), and 13 subunits of the mitochondrial inner membrane respiratory complexes. The gene arrangement is the same as in Drosophila yakuba, except that the positions of two contiguous tRNAs are reversed and a third tRNA is transcribed from the complementary strand. Protein-coding genes, rRNAs, and most tRNAs were similar to D. yakuba. Two tRNAs had nonstandard secondary structures comparable with those of nematode mitochondrial tRNAs. The very small putative control region (625 bp) contains no sequence motifs similar to those used in vertebrates and other insects for initiation of transcription and replication.