Revisiting mitogenome evolution in Medusozoa with eight new mitochondrial genomes

Summary

Mitogenomics has improved our understanding of medusozoan phylogeny. However, sequenced medusozoan mitogenomes remain scarce, and Medusozoa phylogeny studies often analyze mitogenomic sequences without incorporating mitogenome rearrangements. To better understand medusozoan evolution, we analyzed Medusozoa mitogenome phylogeny by sequencing and assembling eight mitogenomes from three classes (Cubozoa, Hydrozoa, and Scyphozoa). We reconstructed the mitogenome phylogeny using these mitogenomes and 84 other existing cnidarian mitogenomes to study mitochondrial gene rearrangements. All reconstructed mitogenomes had 13 mitochondrial protein-coding genes and two ribosomal genes typical for Medusozoa. Non-cubozoan mitogenomes were all linear and had typical gene orders, while arrangement of genes in the fragmented Cubozoa ( Morbakka sp.) mitogenome differed from other Cubozoa mitogenomes. Gene order comparisons and ancestral state reconstruction suggest minimal rearrangements within medusozoan classes except for Hydrozoa. Our findings support a staurozoan ancestral medusozoan gene order, expand the pool of available medusozoan mitogenomes, and enhance our understanding of medusozoan phylogenetic relationships.

Graphical abstract

Highlights

• •

  Mitogenomes of two Hydrozoa, five Scyphozoa, and one Cubozoa sequenced

• •

  Hydrozoa, Staurozoa, and Cubozoa are monophyletic; Scyphozoa is paraphyletic

• •

  Medusozoan gene orders highly conserved, except in Hydrozoa

• •

  Staurozoa gene order inferred as ancestral to rest of Medusozoa