Organization and characterization of the mitochondrial genome of the Razorbelly scad Alepes kleinii (Perciformes: Carangidae)

Abstract

The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of Alepes kleinii (Perciformes: Carangidae) was determined in this study. The entire sequence was 16,571 bp in length which contained 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, 2 rRNA genes, and 2 non-coding regions (the control region and the light strand replication origin). Gene organization and gene order were similar to that observed in most other vertebrates. Overall base compositions of the sequence were 28.0% of A, 28.5% of C, 27.0% of T, and 16.5% of G, showing an obvious anti-G bias commonly observed in teleosts. Apart from the ND6 and eight tRNA genes, all other genes were encoded on the heavy strand. Three types of initiation codons were detected in the open reading frames of the protein-coding genes, including codon ATA which was rarely detected in Carangidae species. The complete mitogenome sequence data of A. kleinii could provide useful information for taxonomic and phylogenetics studies.