Complete mitochondrial genome ofMustela sibirica(Carnivora: Mustelidae), a protected and endangered species in China

Abstract

We sequenced the complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of Mustela sibirica in China by the shotgun genome skimming methods. The mitogenome of M. sibirica is 16,558bp in length with the base composition of 32.9% A, 27.3% T, 26.0% C, and 13.9% G, and consists of 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 tRNAs, two rRNAs, and one non-coding control region. The 13 PCGs use ATG as initiation codons except ND3 , ND5 and ND2 which initiate with codons ATA and ATT, respectively. Four ( COX3 , ND1 , ND2 and ND4 ) of the 13 PCGs terminate with a single T– –, and the remainder with a TAA termination codon except ND3 and CYT B using TA– and AGA as termination codon. The phylogenetic tree based on 13 protein-coding genes indicated that M. sibirica is sister to the clade grouped with three species M. nigripes , M. eversmannii , and M. putorius , and Mustelinae species formed a monophyletic group, which is close to the Lutrinae clade within Mustelidae.

Characterisation of the Complete Mitochondrial Genome of Critically Endangered Mustela lutreola (Carnivora: Mustelidae) and Its Phylogenetic and Conservation Implications

“…In terms of the H-strand nucleotide composition, the order identified in this study, A > T > C > G, corresponds with the order characteristic for mitogenomes of Mustelidae species and, in a broader context, of other mammals [ 36 , 40 , 48 , 49 , 53 , 57 , 62 , 64 , 67 , 68 , 69 ]. The revealed base compositions were found to be skewed similarly to those of mitogenomes of other vertebrate sequences, with more A+T than G+C base pairs and higher deoxyadenosine monophosphate and deoxycytidine monophosphate contents in the L-strand [ 36 , 40 , 70 ].…”

“…The revealed base compositions were found to be skewed similarly to those of mitogenomes of other vertebrate sequences, with more A+T than G+C base pairs and higher deoxyadenosine monophosphate and deoxycytidine monophosphate contents in the L-strand [ 36 , 40 , 70 ]. A particularly high similarity in this respect is observed between M. lutreola and M. putorius , M. eversmanni , M. nigripes , M. sibirica and M. itatsi ( Table 5 ) [ 48 , 49 , 50 ]. With regard to individual genes (regions) of the mitogenome, a particularly high similarity is observed for European mink and, for example, black-footed ferret [ 48 ].…”

“…The number of PCGs, as well as tRNA and rRNA genes in mitochondrial genome of M. lutreola is typical for mustelids, as well as most other animals [ 36 , 48 , 49 , 51 , 52 , 57 , 62 , 64 , 68 , 69 , 71 , 72 ]. The encoding-strand identity of the mitochondrial genes of European mink and their order in the mitochondrial chromosome is consistent with a collinear gene order characteristic for other vertebrate mitogenomes [ 36 , 48 , 57 , 62 , 64 , 73 ].…”

First mitochondrial genome of the marbled polecat Vormela peregusna (Carnivora, Mustelidae)

“…The sequence contains 2 ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), and 1 control region. The base composition is 33.2% A, 26% C, 12.9% G, 27.4% T and 0.5% N; the GC content is 38.9%, which is approximately accordant with other Mustelidae species (Jeon et al 2017;Gao et al 2020). The small gaps observed, especially in the 16S rRNA, ATP6 and ND5 genes, are likely due to the degraded quality of the historical DNA extract.…”

“… 2017 ; Gao et al. 2020 ). The small gaps observed, especially in the 16S rRNA, ATP6 and ND5 genes, are likely due to the degraded quality of the historical DNA extract.…”