First report on the complete mitochondrial genome of the four deep sea eels from off the east Mariana basin, western Pacific Ocean

Abstract

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genes are widely applied in species identification and genetic diversity studies. However, there was no information on the complete mitochondrial genome of deep-sea eels from off the east Mariana basin, western Pacific Ocean, to date. In this study, we sequenced the complete mitochondrial genome of the four deep-sea eel specimens collected from off the east Mariana basin, western Pacific Ocean. The complete mt genome of the four deep-sea eels (sample IDs: BT01, BT07, BT08, and BT09) was 16,686 bp, 16,677 bp, 16,687 bp, and 16,696 bp in lengths, consisting of the 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, 2 rRNA genes, and a control region (D-loop), respectively. We also performed molecular phylogenetic relationship analysis of the four eel specimens, the sequence of CO1 using the maximum likelihood method. The molecular phylogenetic tree of CO1 gene confirmed that the four deep-sea eels (sample IDs: BT01, BT07, BT08, and BT09) were closely related to Synaphobranchus kaupii, Synaphobranchus affinis, Histiobranchus bathybius, Simenchelys parasitica, respectively. This is the first report on the complete mitochondrial genome and species identification of the four deep-sea eels collected from off the east Mariana basin, western Pacific Ocean, based on CO1 gene sequence. This study will provide molecular information for further research on deep-sea fish species diversity, evolution abundance, and distribution in the western Pacific Ocean.