Sequence and organization of the mitochondrial genome of the Chagas disease vector, Triatoma dimidiata

The 17 019 bp mitochondrial genome of Triatoma dimidiata is composed of thi rteen protein coding sequences, twenty-two tRNAs, small and large ribosomal units, and a control region. The gene order and orientation are identical to that of Drosophila yakuba. The nucleotide composition is biased toward a denine and thymine (69.5% A + T). The 2.1 kb putative control region, known as the A + T rich region in most insects, has an A + T bias of 66%, but co ntains a 400 bp sequence that is 77.5% A + T and two other distinct regions : (1) one with a lower A + T bias (60.1%) and (2) a region of eight tandem repeat units. The identified 1.4 kb nuclear copy of mitochondrial sequences encompasses t he string of Gs and the beginning of the cytochrome c oxidase 1 gene but la cks the 1.8 kb region spanning the eight tandem repeats and the 5' end of t he NADH dehydrogenase subunit II gene.