Mitochondrial Genome Assemblies of Four "Bee-Assassin" (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Apiomerus) Recovered Using Shallow Whole-Genome sequencing.

Abstract

Apiomerus ("bee-assassin" assassin bugs) is a Neotropical genus of Reduviidae with ecological importance as a group of predatory insects and notable morphological diversity, yet mitochondrial genomic resources have remained unavailable for the genus. We generated low-coverage whole-genome sequencing data from four vouchered specimens collected in Colombia and reconstructed mitochondrial genomes for Apiomerus sp., A. ochropterus, A. luctuosus, and A. nitidicollis. Quality-filtered reads were assembled using an organelle-specific GetOrganelle workflow, and the resulting assembly graphs and candidate sequences were evaluated against initial SPAdes/BLASTN-based reconstructions. GetOrganelle recovered complete circular mitochondrial genomes for Apiomerus sp., A. ochropterus, and A. nitidicollis, whereas A. luctuosus was represented by a single gap-free, non-circularized mitochondrial scaffold in which the control region was not completely recovered. The selected assemblies ranged from 14,943 to 19,405 bp and were strongly AT-rich. Annotation and manual curation recovered the complete complement of 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, and two rRNA genes in all four taxa. Comparative analysis showed complete conservation of mitochondrial gene content, gene order, and transcriptional orientation, with no evidence of gene rearrangements among the sampled species. Phylogenetic analysis based on concatenated mitochondrial protein-coding genes recovered the four Apiomerus taxa as a monophyletic group, with A. ochropterus and Apiomerus sp. forming a sister pair, A. nitidicollis sister to that clade, and A. luctuosus occupying the basal position among the sampled taxa. These assemblies constitute the first mitochondrial genomic resources for Apiomerus and expand the representation of Apiomerini for comparative mitogenomic, taxonomic, and phylogenetic studies.