Researchers have assembled the first complete mitochondrial genome of the whale louse Cyamus boopis, an obligate ectoparasitic amphipod crustacean. The specimens were collected from the skin of a humpback whale that stranded on the coast of the East China Sea, and the study was published in BMC Genomics as an open access research article.
Species identification was based on specific morphological characteristics. The lice have a dorsoventrally flattened body that lacks appendages adapted for swimming, robust thoracic pereopods ending in sharply incurved terminal hooks, prominent tubular respiratory gills on both sides of the thorax, and distinct sexual dimorphism. Together these features confirmed the specimens as C. boopis Lütken, 1870.
The complete mitogenome measures 15,311 base pairs in length and contains 37 genes: 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNAs and two ribosomal RNAs. A putative control region was located between trnP and trnI. This is the first characterization of the complete mitogenome of this species.
According to the authors, the findings provide molecular validation for the distinct taxonomic status of C. boopis and lay a foundation for the future identification of closely related species within the family Cyamidae. The data are intended to serve as a molecular reference for investigating the phylogeny, genomic evolution, and coevolutionary relationships between hosts and parasites in obligate ectoparasitic crustaceans.
The study was carried out by Ying Qiao, Yue Hu, Bingyao Chen, Teng Huang, Shenglan Chen, Yunfan Huang, Lixing Huang, Theerakamol Pengsakul, Luoyang Chen and Xiaowan Ma, and was published on 29 October 2026.
Subject of Research: The first complete mitochondrial genome characterization of the whale louse Cyamus boopis
Article Title: Mitochondrial rearrangement and adaptive evolution in whale lice (Amphipoda): molecular signatures of obligate parasitism
Article References: Qiao, Y., Hu, Y., Chen, B., Huang, T., Chen, S., Huang, Y., Huang, L., Pengsakul, T., Chen, L., & Ma, X. (2026). Mitochondrial rearrangement and adaptive evolution in whale lice (Amphipoda): molecular signatures of obligate parasitism. BMC Genomics. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-026-13447-7
Image Credits: AI Generated
DOI: 10.1186/s12864-026-13447-7
Keywords: whale louse, Cyamus boopis, mitogenome, Amphipoda, humpback whale, ectoparasite, Cyamidae, mitochondrial genome, East China Sea, crustacean, Mitochondrial, rearrangement
News Source: Juliet Wilcox. (October 29, 2026). First Complete Mitogenome of Whale Louse Cyamus boopis Revealed. Scienmag.
