Mitochondrial genome rearrangements at low taxonomic levels: three distinct mitogenome gene orders in the genus Pseudoniphargus (Crustacea: Amphipoda)

Abstract

A comparison of mitochondrial genomes of three species of the amphipod Pseudoniphargus revealed the occurrence of a surprisingly high level of gene rearrangement involving protein-coding genes that is a rare phenomenon at low taxonomic levels. The three Pseudoniphargus mitogenomes also display a unique gene arrangement with respect to either the presumed Pancrustacean order or those known for other amphipods. Relative long non-coding sequences appear adjacent to the putative breakage points involved in gene rearrangements of protein coding genes. Other details of the newly obtained mitochondrial genomes – e.g., gene content, nucleotide composition and codon usage – are similar to those found in the mitogenomes of other amphipod species studied. They all contain the typical mitochondrial genome set consisting of 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNAs, and two rRNAS, as well as a large control region. The secondary structures and characteristics of tRNA and ribosomal mitochondrial genes of these three species are also discussed.

• Pseudoniphargidae, non-coding region, RNA structure, transposition and reversal events

Acknowledgments

The authors are greatly indebted to Pablo Barranco (University of Almeria, Spain) for the collection of P. sorbasiensis specimens used in this study.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and the writing of the paper. This work was supported by Spanish MIMECO grants CGL2009-08256 and CGL2012-33597, partially financed with EU FEDER funds. Morten Stokkan was supported by a MIMECO FPI fellowship.

Supplementary material available online Supplemental material Table 1 and Figures 1-4.