Unraveling the Mitogenomic Characteristics and Phylogenetic Implications of (Zugmayer, 1912), an Endangered Fish in the Junggar Basin of Xinjiang, Northwest China.

BACKGROUND

is a rare and endangered fish in Xinjiang, China. As a representative species of the fauna in the Junggar Basin, it is of high economic and scientific value. The genetic data are still limited, and the mitochondrial genomic characteristics remain unexplored.

METHODS

A high-throughput sequencing method was used to obtain the complete mitogenome of .

RESULTS

The full length of the circular DNA was 16,609 bp, and it consisted of 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 tRNAs, 2 rRNAs and 2 non-coding regions. The overall nucleotide compositions of both the mitogenome and PCGs showed an obvious AT preference with percentages of 54.20% and 53.60%, respectively. Three commonly used amino acids were Leu (16.43%), Ala (8.95%) and Thr (7.85%) in turn. All tRNAs could form the typical clover structures excluding tRNA-Ser . The presumed secondary structures of two rRNAs contained several stem-loop domains, and the structure of 12S rRNA seemed to be more stable than that of 16S rRNA. Extended termination sequence regions (ETASs), central conserved regions (CSB-F, CSB-E and CSB-D), and conserved sequence regions (CSB-1, CSB-2 and CSB-3) were identified in the control region. The phylogenetic tree showed that was recovered with strong supports as a sister to the other members of the genus. The location in the outermost branch implied that it might be a relatively ancient species among its congeners.

CONCLUSIONS

This study would complement the genetic data on and contribute to a better understanding of molecular evolution in as well.