Complete mitochondrial genome of the Northern Long-eared Owl (Asio otus Linnaeus, 1758) determined using next-generation sequencing

Abstract

In this study, the mitogenome of Asio otus, the Northern Long-eared Owl, was analysed using Illumina next-generation sequencing. The mitogenome was found to be a circular molecule, 17,735 bp long with a slight AT bias (53.0%). The gene arrangement pattern was the same as that of a typical vertebrate, containing 37 genes (13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNA genes, two ribosomal RNA genes, and a non-coding control region). In the putative control region (1984 bp), there were two types of tandem repeats at the end of the region. A phylogenetic tree was constructed using the 13 PCG sequences discovered in this study and those of that have been previously published of other Strigidae species and revealed a close relationship between A. otus and A. flammeus. The newly generated mitogenome from this study enriches the genomic resources available for future evolutionary studies and promotes conservation genetics of this species.

Keywords

• asio otus
• mitochondrial genome
• long-eared owl
• next generation sequencing