Complete mitochondrial genome of the gyrfalcon Falco rusticolus (Aves, Falconiformes, Falconidae)

Abstract

The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus), the largest of the true falcons, was characterized using next generation sequencing. The mitogenome was 18 218 bp long, and comprised of 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 tRNA, 2 rRNA and two non-coding regions; a control region (D-loop) harboring two tandem repeats 80 bp and 56 bp long and a pseudo-control region (ΨD-loop) with a tandem repeat 27 bp long. All genes were encoded on the + strand except ND6 and 8 tRNA genes.

Keywords:

• Illumina next generation sequencing
• mitogenome
• pseudo-control region
• tandem repeat

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper. The present work was funded by Pálmi Jónsson Nature Conservation Fund and University of Akureyri Research Fund.