The complete mitochondrial genome and phylogenetic position of the leopard catshark, Poroderma pantherinum

Michaela van Staden; Katie S Gledhill; Clint Rhode; Aletta E Bester-van der Merwe

doi:10.1080/23802359.2018.1483772

The complete mitochondrial genome and phylogenetic position of the leopard catshark, Poroderma pantherinum

Mitochondrial DNA B Resour. 2018 Jul 10;3(2):750-752. doi: 10.1080/23802359.2018.1483772.

Authors

Michaela van Staden¹, Katie S Gledhill^{1

2}, Clint Rhode¹, Aletta E Bester-van der Merwe¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Genetics, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa.
² South African Shark Conservancy, Old Harbour Museum, Hermanus, South Africa.

Abstract

We present the first mitochondrial genome of a South African endemic catshark, Poroderma pantherinum. The complete mitogenome is 16,686 bp in length, comprising 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes, and one non-coding control region. Similar to other shark mitogenomes, it is AT rich (61.1%), with a GC content of 38.9%. Protein-coding genes used one of two start codons (ATG and GTG) and one stop codon (TAA/TA-/T-). Phylogenetic analysis of the leopard catshark and 34 carcharhinid species showed that it clusters with two other scyliorhinid species (Cephaloscyllium umbratile and Scyliorhinus canicula) with 100% support.

Keywords: Poroderma pantherinum; Scyliorhinidae; catshark; mitochondrial genome.