Next-generation sequencing yields the complete mitochondrial genome of Rhodoprasina callantha (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) and its evolutionary status.

In this study, we sequenced and analyzed the complete mitochondrial genome of Rhodoprasina callantha Jordan, 1929. The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of R. callantha was 15,343 bp in size and encoded 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), two ribosomal RNA genes (rRNA), 22 transfer RNA genes (tRNA) and one control region (CR). The nucleotide composition of mitogenome was highly biased to A and T. Most protein-coding genes (PCGs) initiate with the standard start codon of ATN and terminate with the typical stop codon TAA/TAG. The phylogeny of Sphingidae based on nucleotide sequences of PCGs recovered the monophyly of subfamilies of Sphingidae with high support values. Langinae was the first subfamily diverged in Sphingidae, which was in accordance with previous study. R. callantha was the member of subfamily Smerinthinae, and closely related to the genus Marumba.

The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of the hawkmoth, Ambulyx tobii (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) and phylogenetic analysis.

In this study, we sequenced and analyzed the complete mitochondrial genome of Ambulyx tobii to compare mitochondrial genome structures and reconstruct phylogenetic relationships. The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of A. tobii is circular, 15,343 bp in size and encodes 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), two ribosomal RNA genes (rRNAs), 22 transfer RNA genes (tRNAs), and a control region (CR). Nucleotide composition is highly biased toward A + T nucleotides (81.2%). Most PCGs initiate with the standard start codon of ATN and terminate with the typical stop codon TAA/TAG. Phylogenetic analyses were performed using both 13 PCGs and whole mitochondrial genomes showed that A. tobii is closely related to A. substrigilis.

Synthesis and QSAR study of novel α-methylene-γ-butyrolactone derivatives as antifungal agents.

Thirty-six new α-benzylidene-γ-lactone compounds based α-methylene-γ-butyrolactone substructure were prepared and characterized by spectroscopic analysis. All compounds were evaluated for antifungal activities in vitro against six plant pathogenic fungi and the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) against Botrytis cinerea and Colletotrichum lagenarium were investigated. Compounds 5c-3 and 5c-5 with the halogen atom exhibited excellent fungicidal activity against B. cinerea (IC50=22.91, 18.89µM). The structure-activity relationships (SARs) analysis indicated that the derivatives with electron-withdrawing substituents at the meta- or para-positions improves the activity. Via the heuristic method, the generated quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) model (R2=0.961) revealed a strong correlation of antifungal activity against B. cinerea with molecular structures of these compounds. Meanwhile, the cytotoxicity of 20 representative derivatives was tested in the human tumor cells line (HepG2) and the hepatic L02 cells line, the result indicated that the synthesized compounds showed significant inhibitory activity and limited selectivity. Compound 5c-5 has the highest fungicidal activity with IC50=18.89µM (against B. cinerea.) but low cytotoxicity with IC50=35.4µM (against HepG2 cell line) and IC50=68.8µM (against Hepatic L02 cell line). These encouraging results can be providing an alternative, promising use of α-benzylidene-γ-lactone through the design and exploration of eco-friendly fungicides with low toxicity and high efficiency.