TY - JOUR
T1 - The complete mitochondrial genome of the 'Zacatuche' Volcano rabbit (Romerolagus diazi), an endemic and endangered species from the Volcanic Belt of Central Mexico
AU - López-Cuamatzi, Issachar Leonardo
AU - Ortega, Jorge
AU - Baeza, J. Antonio
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.
PY - 2022/2
Y1 - 2022/2
N2 - Background: The ‘Zacatuche’, ‘Teporingo’, or Volcano rabbit (Romerolagus diazi) belongs to the family Leporidae, is an endemic species restricted to the Central part of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, and is considered ‘endangered’ by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Methods and Results: This study reports, for the first time, the complete mitochondrial genome of R. diazi and examined the phylogenetic position of R. diazi among other closely related co-familiar species using mitochondrial protein-coding genes (PCGs). The mitogenome of R. diazi was assembled from short Illumina 150 bp pair-end reads with a coverage of 189x. The AT-rich mitochondrial genome of R. diazi is 17,400 bp in length and is comprised of 13 PCGs, two ribosomal RNA genes, and 22 transfer RNA genes. The gene order observed in the mitochondrial genome of R. diazi is identical to that reported for other leporids. Phylogenetic analyses based on PCGs support the basal position of Romerolagus within the Leporidae, at least when compared to the genera Oryctolagus and Lepus. Nonetheless, additional mitochondrial genomes from species belonging to the genera Bunolagus, Sylvilagus, and Pronolagus, among others, are needed before a more robust conclusion about the derived vs basal placement of Romerolagus within the family Leporidae can be reached based on mitochondrial PCGs. Conclusions: This is the first genomic resource developed for R. diazi and it represents a tool to improve our understanding about the ecology and evolutionary biology of this iconic and endangered species.
AB - Background: The ‘Zacatuche’, ‘Teporingo’, or Volcano rabbit (Romerolagus diazi) belongs to the family Leporidae, is an endemic species restricted to the Central part of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, and is considered ‘endangered’ by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Methods and Results: This study reports, for the first time, the complete mitochondrial genome of R. diazi and examined the phylogenetic position of R. diazi among other closely related co-familiar species using mitochondrial protein-coding genes (PCGs). The mitogenome of R. diazi was assembled from short Illumina 150 bp pair-end reads with a coverage of 189x. The AT-rich mitochondrial genome of R. diazi is 17,400 bp in length and is comprised of 13 PCGs, two ribosomal RNA genes, and 22 transfer RNA genes. The gene order observed in the mitochondrial genome of R. diazi is identical to that reported for other leporids. Phylogenetic analyses based on PCGs support the basal position of Romerolagus within the Leporidae, at least when compared to the genera Oryctolagus and Lepus. Nonetheless, additional mitochondrial genomes from species belonging to the genera Bunolagus, Sylvilagus, and Pronolagus, among others, are needed before a more robust conclusion about the derived vs basal placement of Romerolagus within the family Leporidae can be reached based on mitochondrial PCGs. Conclusions: This is the first genomic resource developed for R. diazi and it represents a tool to improve our understanding about the ecology and evolutionary biology of this iconic and endangered species.
KW - Genomic resources
KW - Leporidae
KW - Mitophylogenomics
KW - Purifying selection
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85119049589&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s11033-021-06940-7
DO - 10.1007/s11033-021-06940-7
M3 - Artículo
C2 - 34783988
AN - SCOPUS:85119049589
SN - 0301-4851
VL - 49
SP - 1141
EP - 1149
JO - Molecular Biology Reports
JF - Molecular Biology Reports
IS - 2
ER -