# Structures and genetic information of control region in mitogenomes of Odonata

## TL;DR

This study examines the control region of Odonata mitogenomes to reveal structural patterns that may help understand their evolutionary relationships.

## Contribution

The study identifies structural differences in the control region of Odonata mitogenomes and suggests its potential for phylogenetic analysis.

## Key findings

- Anisoptera and Anisozygoptera species show a conserved stem-loop structure near the rrns gene.
- Zygoptera lacks the conserved polyC-polyG region found in other Odonata groups.
- Repetition patterns in the control region are similar among sibling species like Euphaea.

## Abstract

Mitogenome data of Odonata is accumulating and widely used in phylogenetic analysis. However, noncoding regions, especially control region, were usually omitted from the phylogenetic reconstruction. In an effort to uncover the phylogenetic insights offered by the control region, we have amassed 65 Odonata mitogenomes and conducted an examination of their control regions. Our analysis discovered that species belonging to Anisoptera and Anisozygoptera exhibited a stem-loop structure, which was formed by a conserved polyC-polyG stretch located near the rrns gene (encoding 12S rRNA). Conversely, the polyC-polyG region was not a conserved fragment in Zygoptera. The length and number of repetitions within the control region were identified as the primary determinants of its overall length. Further, sibling species within Odonata, particularly those in the genus Euphaea, displayed similar patterns of repetition in their control region. Collectively, our research delineates the structural variations within the control region of Odonata and suggests the potential utility of this region in elucidating phylogenetic relationships among closely related species.