Abstract
Aix galericulata and Tadorna ferruginea are two Anatidae species representing different taxonomic groups of Anseriformes. We used a PCR-based method to determine the complete mtDNAs of both species, and estimated phylogenetic trees based on the complete mtDNA alignment of these and 14 other Anseriforme species, to clarify Anseriform phylogenetics. Phylogenetic trees were also estimated using a multiple sequence alignment of three mitochondrial genes (Cyt b, ND2, and COI) from 68 typical species in GenBank, to further clarify the phylogenetic relationships of several groups among the Anseriformes. The new mtDNAs are circular molecules, 16,651 bp (Aix galericulata) and 16,639 bp (Tadorna ferruginea) in length, containing the 37 typical genes, with an identical gene order and arrangement as those of other Anseriformes. Comparing the protein-coding genes among the mtDNAs of 16 Anseriforme species, ATG is generally the start codon, TAA is the most frequent stop codon, one of three, TAA, TAG, and T-, commonly observed. All tRNAs could be folded into canonical cloverleaf secondary structures except for tRNASer (AGY) and tRNALeu (CUN), which are missing the "DHU" arm.Phylogenetic relationships demonstrate that Aix galericula and Tadorna ferruginea are in the same group, the Tadorninae lineage, based on our analyses of complete mtDNAs and combined gene data. Molecular phylogenetic analysis suggests the 68 species of Anseriform birds be divided into three families: Anhimidae, Anatidae, and Anseranatidae. The results suggest Anatidae birds be divided into five subfamilies: Anatinae, Tadorninae, Anserinae, Oxyurinae, and Dendrocygninae. Oxyurinae and Dendrocygninae should not belong to Anserinae, but rather represent independent subfamilies. The Anatinae includes species from the tribes Mergini, Somaterini, Anatini, and Aythyini. The Anserinae includes species from the tribes Anserini and Cygnini.
Highlights
Anseriformes is a highly differentiated order of birds with worldwide distribution, containing more than 150 species [1], [2]
Genome organization and arrangement The complete mtDNAs of Aix galericulata and Tadorna ferruginea are 16,651 and 16,639 bp in length, respectively. Both contain the typical set of 37 genes, including 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs) (ATP6, ATP8, COI-III, ND1-6, ND4L, and Cyt b), two rRNAs (12S rRNA and 16S rRNA), 22 tRNAs and a putative control region (CR) (D-loop) (Table 1)
Protein-coding genes Through the 13 protein-coding genes, ATG is the start codon in nine of the 13 PCGs in Aix galericulata, but ND4 starts with ATT, while COI, COII, and ND5 begin with the nonstandard start codon GTG
Summary
Anseriformes is a highly differentiated order of birds with worldwide distribution, containing more than 150 species [1], [2]. The two birds have a moderately large body size, contrastingly pale dorsal wing-coverts, and blunt carpal (wing) spurs, along with other shared morphological characteristics; and both feed through a combination of wading and dabbling [3] All of these characteristics lie between the true ducks (Anatinae) and true geese (Anserinae) in terms of anatomy and behavior [12]. Some authors believe Aix and Tadorna form an independent lineage together, the subfamily Tadorninae [8] This view has often been challenged, and relationships within Tadorninae/Tadornini remain problematic, in particular, the taxonomy and systematic relationships within the groups. Even other authors suggest that Tadornini (containing Aix and Cairina) should not belong to Anatinae at all, but rather represents the independent subfamily Tadorninae, placed in Anatidae [3]
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