The complete mitochondrial genome of Arius arius (Siluriformes: Ariidae)

Abstract

The threadfin sea catfish (Arius arius) belongs to the genus Arius in Ariidae. In this paper, we initially determined the complete mitochondrial genome of Arius arius. The mitochondrial genome is 16, 711 bp in length, with the base composition on the heavy strand: A -29.67%, T -25.38%, C -29.70% and G -15.25%. It has the typical vertebrate mitochondrial gene arrangement, including 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, 2 rRNA genes and a control region. Phylogenetic analysis showed that A. arius was clustered into the order of Siluriformes, and closely related to species in the family of Siluridae. The present study would contribute to genetic resources conservation and systematics study of A. arius.

Characterization of the Complete Mitochondrial Genome of the Spotted Catfish Arius maculatus (Thunberg, 1792) and Its Phylogenetic Implications

“…Phylogenetic tree topologies of the two superfamilies (Ariidae, Pangasiidae, Bagridae, Mochokidae, Cl ariidae, Siluridae, and Sisoridae) were similar, and strong statistics supported the following relationship among them ( Figure 7 ). The clustering pattern of seven superfamilies was obviously consistent with previous studies [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ]. (According to the ML method, 15 closely related genera were identified within the seven superfamilies, and A. maculatus (Arius) was most closely related to A. arius (Arius), N. thalassina (Netuma), O. platypogon (Occidentarius), and B. panamensis (Bagre), which was consistent with a recent study’s findings about nucleotide sequence identity [ 22 , 23 ].…”

“…Moreover, the mtDNA of A. maculatus comprised 2 rRNA genes, 13 PCGs, 22 tRNA genes, and a D-loop region. The arrangement of the genes in the A. maculatus mtDNA was identical to that of other reported Ariidae mtDNAs ( Table 1 ) [ 22 , 23 , 24 ]. Of these genes, 29 (12 PCG, 2 rRNA, and 15 tRNA) were located in the heavy strand (H-strand); the rest (1 PCG and 8 tRNA) were located in the light strand (L-strand) ( Table 1 ).…”

“…According to the rRNA gene content, all rRNA genes had 52.75% A + T, which indicated a trend toward A + C, as observed in other Siluriformes [ 22 , 24 ]. The AT and GC skews were positive (0.2369) and negative (−0.1463), respectively ( Table 2 ).…”

“…( Table 1 ). The mtDNA of A. maculatus is homologous to sequenced mtDNAs of other Siluriformes, including A. arius [ 24 ], O. platypogon [ 24 ], Pseudecheneis immaculatus [ 46 ], and Ailia coila [ 47 ].…”

“…Moreover, mtDNA synteny analysis has revealed many common mtDNA features in Siluriformes, which may lead to a better understanding of the evolution of Siluriformes [ 21 ]. Despite the vast species diversity in this family, there are only five species containing available complete mtDNAs in the GenBank database, and mtDNA information in the family Ariidae is only available for three species, Occidentarius platypogon [ 22 ], Bagre panamensis [ 23 ], and Arius arius [ 24 ]. To date, there is still an observable lack of mtDNA information among Ariidae, and the phylogenetic relationships and taxonomic status of A. maculatus in Ariidae are still vague.…”