Complete mitochondrial genome of the Saker falcon, Falco cherrug (Falco, Falconidae)

Abstract

The Falco cherrug (Saker falcon) is a large bird of prey. In this article, the complete mitochondrial genome of F. cherrug has been determined for the first time. The mitogenome (18,059 bp) comprised 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, 2 rRNA genes and 1 control region. Most protein-coding genes started with an ATG or ATA codon except for COI, which initiated with nontypical start codon of GTG instead, and terminated with the typical stop codon (TAA/TAG/AGA/AGG) or a single T. Two tandem repeats were identified in the control region, which was almost identical to Falco peregrinus, and the length of these two repeats are 204 bp and 291 bp, respectively.

• Falco cherrug
• Falconidae
• mitogenome
• tandem repeat

Acknowledgements

We would thank BGI for generating the sequencing data of Falco cherrug used in this work and the anonymous reviewers for proving valuable comments on this manuscript.

Declaration of interest

The authors have declared that no conflict of interest exists. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.