Shotgun sequencing of the mitochondrial genome of the Aldabra giant tortoise (Aldabrachelys gigantea)

Abstract

The complete mitochondrial genome of the Aldabra giant tortoise [Aldabrachelys gigantea (Schweigger, 1812): Reptilia, Testudines, Testudinidae] was sequenced using a shotgun approach on an Illumina HiSeq 2500 platform (Illumina Inc., San Diego, CA). This genome was 16 467 bp long and presents the typical organization found in vertebrates. The mean coverage of sequencing was 116×. A phylogenetic analysis of the Testudinidae confirms the placement of Aldabrachelys in an Indian Ocean group (including Madagascar). This mitogenome constitutes a reference for ancient DNA analyses of the extinct Madagascan lineages of Aldabrachelys.

Keywords:

• Madagascar
• mitogenome
• Testudinidae

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Olaf Pronk for providing us with the opportunity to collect blood from his group of Aldabra giant tortoises.

Funding information

This work was supported by TULIP (ANR-10-LABX-41).

Disclosure statement

The authors report that they have no conflict of interests. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.