Phylogeny and evolutionary analysis of the whole mitochondrial genome of Neohirasea stephanus Redtenbacher, 1908 (Phasmatodea, Loncodidae)

Neohirasea stephanus belongs to the subfamily Necrosciinae in phasmida, which is the most abundant subfamily. In this study, the mitochondrial genome of Neohirasea stephanus was obtained, and its gene structure, protein-coding genes, nucleic acid composition and codon usage were analyzed, while the secondary structure of rRNAs was predicted, and the published complete mitochondrial genomes of 31 stick and leaf insects were compared and analyzed. In addition, the phylogenetic relationships were revealed based on 34 mitochondrial genome data sets by using the Bayesian inference method (BI). The results indicated that N. stephanus and N. japonica are the sister group, and the subfamily Clitumninae, Eurycanthinae and Lonchodinae are a polyphyletic group. According to the time calibrated phylogenetic estimation, the divergence time of Euphasmatodea is inferred to have started ~ 112.55 Mya. This study enriched the mitochondrial genome data of the subfamily Necrosciinae and provided a molecular reference for the future phylogenetic study of stick insects.