title: 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.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Evolutionary Biology , Zoological Institute, Technische Universität Braunschweig , Braunschweig , Germany and.
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: MacLeod
authors.affiliation: b Laboratory for Zoology and Evolutionary Biology, Department of Biology , University of Konstanz , Konstanz , Germany.
authors.forename: Iker
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Irisarri
authors.affiliation: a Department of Evolutionary Biology , Zoological Institute, Technische Universität Braunschweig , Braunschweig , Germany and.
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vences
authors.affiliation: a Department of Evolutionary Biology , Zoological Institute, Technische Universität Braunschweig , Braunschweig , Germany and.
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Steinfartz
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D054629:Genome, Mitochondrial; D007076:Iguanas / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D019901:Locus Control Region; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D010802:Phylogeny; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics; D012343:RNA, Transfer / Q000235:genetics; D020080:Tandem Repeat Sequences
chemical_list: D012335:RNA, Ribosomal; D012343:RNA, Transfer
keywords: Evolutionary relationships; Galápagos archipelago; Iguanidae; Islands; phylogenetics