The complete mitochondrial genomes of the Galápagos iguanas, Amblyrhynchus cristatus and Conolophus subcristatus

Abstract

The Galápagos iguanas are among the oldest vertebrate lineages on the Galápagos archipelago, and the evolutionary history of this clade is of great interest to biologists. We describe here the complete mitochondrial genomes of the marine iguana, Amblyrhynchus cristatus (Genbank accession number: KT277937) and the land iguana Conolophus subcristatus (Genbank accession number: KT277936). The genomes contain 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNAs, and two ribosomal RNAs genes, as well as a control region (CR). Both species have an identical gene order, which matches that of Iguana iguana. The CR of both Galápagos iguanas features similar tandem repeats units, which are absent in I. iguana. We present a phylogeny of the Iguanidae based on complete mitochondrial genomes, which confirms the sister-group relationship of Galápagos iguanas. These new mitochondrial genomes constitute an important data source for future exploration of the phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary history of the Galápagos iguanas.

• Evolutionary relationships
• Galápagos archipelago
• Iguanidae
• Islands
• phylogenetics

Acknowledgements

The authors thank K. Rassmann and F. Trillmich for sample collection, M. Kondermann, J. Juras and L. M. Köpping for assistance with the laboratory work, and A. Meyer for logistic assistance. This publication is contribution number 2119 of the Charles Darwin Foundation for the Galapagos Islands.

Declaration of interest

This study was supported by grants from the Swiss Friends of the Galápagos Islands. I. Irisarri was supported by postdoc fellowships of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and EMBO. The authors declare that they have no conflicting interests.