Characterisation of the Complete Mitochondrial Genome of Critically Endangered Mustela lutreola (Carnivora: Mustelidae) and Its Phylogenetic and Conservation Implications

Jakub Skorupski

doi:10.3390/genes13010125

Abstract

In this paper, a complete mitochondrial genome of the critically endangered European mink Mustela lutreola L., 1761 is reported. The mitogenome was 16,504 bp in length and encoded the typical 13 protein-coding genes, two ribosomal RNA genes and 22 transfer RNA genes, and harboured a putative control region. The A+T content of the entire genome was 60.06% (A > T > C > G), and the AT-skew and GC-skew were 0.093 and −0.308, respectively. The encoding-strand identity of genes and their order were consistent with a collinear gene order characteristic for vertebrate mitogenomes. The start codons of all protein-coding genes were the typical ATN. In eight cases, they were ended by complete stop codons, while five had incomplete termination codons (TA or T). All tRNAs had a typical cloverleaf secondary structure, except tRNASer(AGC) and tRNALys, which lacked the DHU stem and had reduced DHU loop, respectively. Both rRNAs were capable of folding into complex secondary structures, containing unmatched base pairs. Eighty-one single nucleotide variants (substitutions and indels) were identified. Comparative interspecies analyses confirmed the close phylogenetic relationship of the European mink to the so-called ferret group, clustering the European polecat, the steppe polecat and the black-footed ferret. The obtained results are expected to provide useful molecular data, informing and supporting effective conservation measures to save M. lutreola.

Highlights

European mink Mustela lutreola L., 1761 (Carnivora: Mustelidae) is a semiaquatic, mainly nocturnal and solitary mammalian species [1,2]
The single nucleotide variants identified in this study enable the delineation of highly variable regions of the European mink mitogenome, generally corresponding to the hypervariable sites recognised in the human mtDNA control region [47]
Of the M. lutreola mitochondrial genome resulted in a DNA molecule with genomic features typical for mustelid mitogenomes, i.e., conserved gene order, gene content, gene size, base composition, codon usage of protein-coding genes (PCGs) and tRNA secondary structures

Summary

Introduction

European mink Mustela lutreola L., 1761 (Carnivora: Mustelidae) is a semiaquatic, mainly nocturnal and solitary mammalian species [1,2]. This medium-sized carnivoran has an elongated, slender body with short limbs and tail [2]. European mink is a food generalist preying primarily on amphibians, small mammals, fish, birds, insects and crustaceans [3]. It inhabits a densely vegetated banks of streams, small rivers and lakes [4]. Extensive commercial over-hunting for fur and competition with invasive non-native

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Conclusion