Analysis of the complete mitochondrial genome of the giant honeybee, Apis dorsata, (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in Thailand

The giant honeybee, Apis dorsata, is a species native to the East Asian continent and some islands of Sundaland and the Philippines. We analyzed, for the first time, the complete mitochondrial genome of A. dorsata from Thailand using next generation sequencing. The mitochondrial genome was found to be a circular molecule of 15,279 bp in length, which consisted of 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 tRNA genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes and an AT rich region. Start codons ATA, ATG and ATT were found in two, three and ten genes, respectively, while stop codons TAA and TAG were observed in 12 and 1 gene, respectively. All tRNA genes formed typical cloverleaf secondary structures, except for His (H) and Tyr (Y). The heavy (H)-strand was found to have nine PCGs and 14 tRNA genes, while the light (L)-strand was found to contain four protein-coding, eight tRNA, and two rRNA genes.