Complete mitochondrial DNA sequence of the three-keeled pond turtle Mauremys reevesii (Reptilia: Testudines)

Abstract

The complete mitochondrial genome of the three-keeled pond turtle Mauremys reevesii from Japan was analyzed using next-generation sequencing. The mitochondrial genome of M. reevesii was observed to be a circular molecule of 15,528 bp containing 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, and two rRNA genes, along with one A + T-rich control region. The average AT was found to be 61.11%. One extra base was present at the 174th position in the ND3 gene. Molecular phylogenetic analysis revealed that M. reevesii from Japan was few genetically distant from the geographically isolated M. reevesii from South Korea. This turtle might have been exported to Japan from the Korean Peninsula after the Middle Ages.

Keywords

• three-keeled pond turtle
• reeve’s pond turtle
• alien species
• next-generation sequencing
• extra base