The complete mitochondrial genome of the Tibetan fox (Vulpes ferrilata) and implications for the phylogeny of Canidae

Abstract

Canidae is a family of carnivores comprises about 36 extant species that have been defined as three distinct monophyletic groups based on multi-gene data sets. The Tibetan fox (Vulpes ferrilata) is a member of the family Canidae that is endemic to the Tibetan Plateau and has seldom been in the focus of phylogenetic analyses. To clarify the phylogenic relationship of V. ferrilata between other canids, we sequenced the mitochondrial genome and firstly attempted to clarify the relative phylogenetic position of V. ferrilata in canids using the complete mitochondrial genome data. The mitochondrial genome of the Tibetan fox was 16,667 bp, including 37 genes (13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA, and 22 tRNA) and a control region. A comparison analysis among the sequenced data of canids indicated that they shared a similar arrangement, codon usage, and other aspects. A phylogenetic analysis on the basis of the nearly complete mtDNA genomes of canids agreed with three monophyletic clades, and the Tibetan fox was highly supported as a sister group of the corsac fox within Vulpes. The estimation of the divergence time suggested a recent split between the Tibetan fox and the corsac fox and rapid evolution in canids. There was no genetic evidence for positive selection related to high-altitude adaption for the Tibetan fox in mtDNA and following studies should pay more attention to the detection of positive signals in nuclear genes involved in energy and oxygen metabolisms.

Establishment and biological characteristics of fibroblast cell lines obtained from wild corsac fox

“…Corsac fox (Vulpes corsac) is mainly lhabitated in Central Asia and is the smallest species among foxes (Zhao et al 2016b) (Zhao et al 2016a, b). Previous studies on corsac were mainly focused on their genetics and systematic taxonomy (Graphodatsky et al 2008;Zhao et al 2016a;Shang et al 2017), biochemistry, and physiology (I V et al 1900;Pozio et al 1992;Tang et al 2001;Kuzmin et al 2004;Botvinkin et al 2008;Odontsetseg et al 2009;Ito et al 2013), as well as ecological distribution (Mal'kova 2000;Tang et al 2004).…”

“…Corsac fox ( Vulpes corsac ) is mainly lhabitated in Central Asia and is the smallest species among foxes (Zhao et al . 2016b ) (Zhao et al . 2016a , b ).…”

“… 2016b ) (Zhao et al . 2016a , b ). Previous studies on corsac were mainly focused on their genetics and systematic taxonomy (Graphodatsky et al .…”

The complete mitochondrial genome sequence ofEophona migratoria(Passeriformes Fringillidae)

“…Sequence analysis showed that the genome structure is consistent with other Passeriformes species, which contains 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, 2 ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, 1 control region, and 1 extra pseudocontrol region. The structure of the mitogenome is a typical vertebrate mitochondrial gene arrangement (Boore 1999;Zhang et al 2016;Zhao et al 2016). Nine genes were encoded on the L-strand, including ND6 and 8 tRNA genes, and the remaining 28 genes were encoded on the H-strand.…”

The complete mitochondrial genome of Grey-streaked Flycatcher Muscicapa griseisticta (Passeriformes: Muscicapidae)

“…Sequence analysis showed that the genome structure is consistent with other Passeriformes species, which contains 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, 2 ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, and 2 control regions. The structure of the mitogenome is a typical vertebrate mitochondrial gene arrangement (Boore 1999;Sun et al 2016;Zhao et al 2016).…”