The complete mitochondrial genome of the red-banded lobster Metanephrops thomsoni (Crustacea, Astacidea, Nephropidae): a novel gene order.

The complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of the red-banded lobster, Metanephrops thomsoni (Decapoda, Astacidea, Nephropidae), is 19,835 bp in length and contains 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 2 ribosomal RNAs, 24 transfer RNAs (including additional copies of trnW and trnL1), and 2 control regions (CR). The mitogenome of M. thomsoni has 10 long intergenic sequences (71-237 bp) with a high AT content (70.0%). The two CRs show 59.6% similarity and have an identical sequence region with a length of 295 bp. The mitogenome of M. thomsoni shows a novel gene arrangement compared with the pancrustacean ground pattern and is identical to that of M. sibogae, except for the two additional tRNAs (trnW and trnL1). Phylogenetic tree from maximum likelihood analysis using the concatenated sequences of 13 PCGs depicted M. thomsoni as one of the members of the superfamily Nephropoidea within Astacidea.