The complete mitochondrial genome of the Sara Longwing Heliconius sara (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae).

The complete mitochondrial genome of the Sara Longwing Heliconius sara has been reconstructed from the whole-genome Illumina sequencing data. The mitochondrial genome is 15,372 bp in size with the highly asymmetric overall A + T content of 80.6%. Annotation of mitochondrial genome revealed a total of 37 genes, including 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNAs (tRNAs), 2 ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs) and 1 D-loop region. Most PCGs are initiated with the ATN codons, while COX1 and ND1 start with CGA and TTG, respectively. COX1, COX2, and ND4 harbor the incomplete stop codon T, while all the others are terminated with the TAR codons. The complete mitochondrial genome of H. Sara would contribute to our further understanding of the phylogeny and evolution of the genus Heliconius and related taxa.