Complete mitochondrial genome sequence of the Himalayan Griffon,Gyps himalayensis(Accipitriformes: Accipitridae): Sequence, structure, and phylogenetic analyses

Abstract

This is the first study to describe the mitochondrial genome of the Himalayan Griffon, Gyps himalayensis , which is an Old World vulture belonging to the family Accipitridae and occurring along the Himalayas and the adjoining Tibetan Plateau. Its mitogenome is a closed circular molecule 17,381 bp in size containing 13 protein‐coding genes, 22 tRNA coding genes, two rRNA‐coding genes, a control region (CR), and an extra pseudo‐control region (CCR) that are conserved in most Accipitridae mitogenomes. The overall base composition of the G. himalayensis mitogenome is 24.55% A, 29.49% T, 31.59% C, and 14.37% G, which is typical for bird mitochondrial genomes. The alignment of the Accipitridae species control regions showed high levels of genetic variation and abundant AT content. At the 5′ end of the domain I region, a long continuous poly‐C sequence was found. Two tandem repeats were found in the pseudo‐control regions. Phylogenetic analysis with Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood based on 13 protein‐coding genes indicated that the relationships at the family level were (Falconidae + (Cathartidae + (Sagittariidae + (Accipitridae + Pandionidae))). In the Accipitridae clade, G. himalayensis is more closely related to Aegypius monachus than to Spilornis cheela . The complete mitogenome of G. himalayensis provides a potentially useful resource for further exploration of the taxonomic status and phylogenetic history of Gyps species.

New view on the organization and evolution of Palaeognathae mitogenomes poses the question on the ancestral gene rearrangement in Aves

“…Both copies of these genes are present only in the fully duplicated versions and GO-I. The same tendencies in the deterioration of duplicated elements were observed in other avian mitogenomes of Accipitriformes [ 4 , 114 ], Charadriiformes [ 115 ], Coraciiformes [ 116 ], Cuculiformes [ 10 , 117 ], Falconiformes [ 4 , 14 , 29 ], Passeriformes [ 13 , 14 , 29 , 41 , 102 , 118 , 119 ], Piciformes [ 4 , 97 ], Psittaciformes [ 23 ] and Strigiformes [ 24 ].…”

Figure 1: Complete mitochondrial genome organization and mitogene arrangement of Gyps coprotheres.

“…Furthermore, NAD4 and COX3 do not have stop codons, but had T as their last nucleotide ( Table 2). The architecture of the Cape vulture mtDNA was similar to those of the raptor bird species included in this study (Jiang et al, 2019).…”

“…For this study, the evolutionary relationships among the bird species were investigated using phylogenetic analysis of the complete mitogenome among all the raptor species whose complete mitochondrial genome are available in GenBank. The choice of the mitogenomes as surrogates to investigate evolutionary relationships was because the mitogenome is composed of unique DNA sequences with evolutionary characteristic among animal species (Jiang et al, 2015;Jiang et al, 2019).…”

The complete mitochondrial genome sequences of Nanorana chayuensis

“…MN411630.1) is 17,882 bp including 13 PCGs, 22 tRNA genes, 2 rRNA genes, and 1 control region, which is similar to the mitochondrial composition of most vertebrates (Jiang et al. 2016 , 2019 ). The overall base composition is A: 29.1%, C: 25.6%, G:14.4%, T: 31.0%, and the content of G + C base in the mitochondrial genome of N. chayuensis is 40%.…”