Complete mitochondrial genomes of the African clawless (Aonyx capensis) and spotted necked (Hydrictis maculicollis) otter: structure, annotation, and interspecies variation

Abstract

Otters are flagship species for pristine habitats and their southernmost distribution in Africa includes two species; Aonyx capensis and Hydrictis maculicollis. Here, we present novel full mitochondrial genomes of these otter species. The comparable mitogenomes consist of 36 genes including 13 protein-coding genes, 2 ribosomal RNAs, and 22 tRNAs including a hypervariable region. Only 19 out of the 36 genes showed some level of variation between species with the smallest being trnV (68 bp difference) and the biggest being nad5 (1830 bp difference). Such variations may provide guidance in selecting gene regions during marker development for phylogenetic assessments.

Keywords

• mitogenomes
• otter
• illumina sequencing
• phylogenetic analysis