Whole mitochondrial genome sequence and phylogenetic relationships of Williams’s jerboa (Scarturus williamsi) from Turkey

Abstract

Williams’s jerboa (Scarturus williamsi), a medium-sized jerboa distributed in Anatolia and its adjacent regions, is a member of the four- and five-toed jerboas found mostly in Asia. Disagreements about the taxonomy of this taxon at the genus/species level continue to exist. Here, we report the first effort to sequence and assemble the mitochondrial genome of Williams’s jerboa from Turkey. The mitochondrial genome of S. williamsi was 16,653 bp in total length and contained 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNAs (tRNAs), two ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs), and two non-coding regions (the D-loop and OL region) with intergenic spacer. All of the genes, except ND6 and eight tRNAs, were encoded on the heavy chain strand, similar to the features of mitogenomes of other rodents. When compared with all available rodent mitochondrial genomes, Williams’s jerboa showed (1) a serine deletion at the 3′-end of the ATP8 gene, (2) the ND5 gene terminated with a TAG codon and (3) a tandem repeat cluster (273 bp in length) in the control region. Williams’s jerboa and Siberian jerboa grouped as sister taxa despite the high genetic distance (17.6%) between them, belonging to Allactaginae. This result is consistent with the latest pre-revision, which suggests that Williams’s jerboa and the Siberian jerboa may belong to separate genera, as Scarturus and Orientallactaga, respectively. The present study provides a reference mitochondrial genome for Williams’s jerboa for further molecular studies of other species of Dipodoidea and Rodentia.