Characterization of complete mitochondrial genome of Hylarana guentheri (Anura: Ranidae) and its phylogenetic implication

Abstract

The Günther’s frog (Hylarana guentheri) belongs to a member of the family Ranidae. We provide a complete mitogenome of H. guentheri and examine its phylogenetic position with other related species. Its mitogenome is a closed circular molecule 18,698 bp in length including 13 protein coding genes, 22 tRNA coding genes, two rRNA-coding genes, and a control region (CR) that are conserved in most Ranidae mitogenomes. The overall base composition of the H. guentheri mitogenome is 29.27% A, 30.45% T, 26.14% C, and 14.15% G, which is typical for Amphibious animals’ mitochondrial genomes. The alignment of the Ranidae species control regions showed high levels of genetic variation and abundant AT content. Seven tandem repeats were found in the control region. Phylogenetic analysis with Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood based on 13 protein-coding genes indicated that H. guentheri is more closely related to Nidirana okinavana than to Babina subaspera and B. holsti. The complete mitogenome of H. guentheri provides a potentially useful resource for further exploration of the taxonomic status and phylogenetic relationships of Hylarana and related species.

Keywords

• hylarana guentheri
• ranidae
• mitochondrial genome
• genome organization
• phylogenetic status