The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of the budgerigar, Melopsittacus undulatus

Abstract

Here, we describe the budgie’s mitochondrial genome sequence, a resource that can facilitate this parrot’s use as a model organism as well as for determining its phylogenetic relatedness to other parrots/Psittaciformes. The estimated total length of the sequence was 18,193 bp. In addition to the to the 13 protein and tRNA and rRNA coding regions, the sequence also includes a duplicated hypervariable region, a feature unique to only a few birds. The two hypervariable regions shared a sequence identity of about 86%.

• Bird
• budgie
• complete mitochondrial genome
• Melopsittacus undulatus

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Virginia Tech Veterinary School technicians for the help with the birds, and to Dr Carl Larson and Kwaku B Gyenai for feather sample collection.

Declaration of interest

There are no conflicts of interests for all the authors. Funding for the work was provided by the NIH and the Virginia Agriculture Council.