Complete mitochondrial genome of the scleractinian coral Porites rus

Abstract

Scleractinian corals of the genus Porites are found across a wide geographical range along the tropical seas. Some species of the genus such as Porites rus are important reef builders in coral reef ecosystems and display a remarkable stress tolerance. Despite their physiological particularities and ecological importance, there is a scarcity of molecular data for members of this genus. Here, we report the first complete mitochondrial genome of Porites rus (Genbank accession number LN864762) which is 18 647 bp in size. It has the typical coral mitochondrial gene arrangement, consisting of 14 protein-coding genes, with a GC content of 36.2%, 12 tRNAs and two rRNAs. The P. rus mitochondrial genome displays two groups: 1 intron in cox1 and nad5 genes. Phylogenetic analyses support the monophyly of the genus Porites. The complete mitochondrial genome will be helpful for addressing questions regarding mitochondrial gene evolution.

• GenDB
• mitochondrial genome
• scleractinian coral
• ultrafast sequencing

Acknowledgements

The present work is part of the Global Change simulation project “Ocean 2100” at the University of Giessen, initiated by the Colombian-German Center of Excellence in Marine Sciences (CEMarin). The authors also acknowledge the support of Patrick Schubert and Jessica Reichert who provided the Porites rus materials from the aquacultures at Justus Liebig University Giessen.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper. The bioinformatics support of the BMBF-funded project “Bielefeld-Giessen Center for Microbial Bioinformatics – BiGi (Grant no. 031A533)” within the German Network for Bioinformatics Infrastructure (de.NBI). J. S. C. is recipient of a Ph.D. scholarship from the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst – DAAD – and the Center of Excellence in Marine Sciences (CEMarin).