First complete mitochondrial genomes of molossid bats (Chiroptera: Molossidae)

Abstract

Bats represent around one-fourth of the world’s mammals and their taxonomy is still controversial. Molossids are one of the most diverse bat families with a wide knowledge gap. In this study, we report the first complete mitochondrial genomes of three molossid bats: the European free-tailed bat Tadarida teniotis, the La Touche’s free-tailed bat Tadarida latouchei, and the Wrinkle-lipped free-tailed bat Chaerephon plicatus. The mitogenomes are 16,869 and 16,784 bp long for T. teniotis and T. latouchei, respectively, while in C. plicatus it is at least 16,216 bp although the control region was not fully recovered due to its higher divergence from T. teniotis. The genomes show conserved synteny with other mammalian mitogenomes, containing 13 protein-coding genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, and 1 control region (d-loop). All protein-coding genes start with the ATG start codon, except for ND2, ND3, and ND5 which begin with ATA or ATT. Eleven protein-coding genes terminated in a canonical stop codon, TAA or TAG, two contain incomplete stop codons, T or TA. Cytochrome b terminates in the mitochondria-specific stop codon AGA. These mitogenomes provide a valuable resource for future studies of Molossidae and other bat and mammal species.