title: Phylogenetic studies of three sinipercid fishes (Perciformes: Sinipercidae) based on complete mitochondrial DNA sequences.
abstract: The sinipercids are a group of 12 species of freshwater percoid fish endemic to East Asia and their phylogenetic placements have perplexed generations of taxonomists. We cloned and sequenced the complete mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of three sinipercid fishes (Siniperca chuatsi, S. kneri, and S. scherzeri) to characterize and compare their mitochondrial genomes. The mitochondrial genomes of S. chuatsi, S. kneri, and S. scherzeri were 16,496, 17,002, and 16,585 bp in length, respectively. The organization of the three mitochondrial genomes is similar to those reported from other fish mitochondrial genomes, which contains 37 genes (13 protein-coding genes, 2 ribosomal RNAs, and 22 transfer RNAs) and a major non-coding control region. Among the 13 protein-coding genes of all the three sinipercid fishes, three reading-frame overlaps were found on the same strand. There is an 81-bp tandem repeat cluster at the end of CSB-3 in the S. scherzeri control region. The complete mitochondrial genomes of the three sinipercids should be useful for the evolutionary studies of sinipercids and other vertebrate species.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering and Environmental Science, Changsha University, Changsha, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Dun-Xue
authors.initials: DX
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Wu-Ying
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.forename: Xi-Liang
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Xiao-Xian
authors.initials: XX
authors.lastname: Nong
authors.forename: Yu-Long
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Shao-Jun
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Du
authors.forename: Jian-She
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001482:Base Composition; D002681:China; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics*; D020459:Genes, rRNA / Q000235:genetics; D054629:Genome, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D016366:Open Reading Frames / Q000235:genetics; D010473:Perciformes / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*; D010802:Phylogeny; D012343:RNA, Transfer / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D012343:RNA, Transfer