The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of the nerippe fritillary butterfly, Argynnis nerippe, which is listed as an endangered species in Korea, is described with an emphasis on the A+T-rich region. The 15,140-bp long circular molecule consisted of 13 protein-coding genes, two rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes and one control region, known in insect as the A+T-rich region, as found in typical metazoans. The 329-bp long A+T-rich region located between srRNA and tRNAMet possessed the highest A/T content (95.7%) than any other region of the genome. Along with the several conserved sequences found typically in the lepidopteran insects the genome contained one tRNAMet-like and tRNALeu(UUR) -like sequence in the A+T-rich region.

• Min Jee Kim(College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, Chonnam National University)
• Heon Cheon Jeong(Insect Research Institute of Hampyeong)
• Seong Ryeol Kim(Department of Agricultural Biology, National Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology)
• Iksoo Kim(College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, Chonnam National University)