title: The complete mitochondrial genome and phylogenetic analysis of the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca).
abstract: The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of the giant panda, Ailuropoda melanoleuca, was determined by the long and accurate polymerase chain reaction (LA-PCR) with conserved primers and primer walking sequence methods. The complete mitochondrial DNA is 16,805 nucleotides in length and contains two ribosomal RNA genes, 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA genes and one control region. The total length of the 13 protein-coding genes is longer than the American black bear, brown bear and polar bear by 3 amino acids at the end of ND5 gene. The codon usage also followed the typical vertebrate pattern except for an unusual ATT start codon, which initiates the NADH dehydrogenase subunit 5 (ND5) gene. The molecular phylogenetic analysis was performed on the sequences of 12 concatenated heavy-strand encoded protein-coding genes, and suggested that the giant panda is most closely related to bears.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Bio-resources and Eco-environment (Ministry of Education), College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, PR China.
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.forename: Xiuxiang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.forename: Bisong
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yue
authors.forename: Zhihe
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Fangdong
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D050259:Genes, Mitochondrial; D016678:Genome; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics; D012343:RNA, Transfer / Q000235:genetics; D001503:Ursidae / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal; D012343:RNA, Transfer