The mitochondrial genome of the endemic and endangered trumpet-nosed bat Musonycteris harrisoni (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae)

Abstract

ABSTRACT The trumpet-nosed bat Musonycteris harrisoni (family Phyllostomidae) is endemic to the western Pacific slope of Mexico, and is considered endangered given prolonged and continuous population decline. This study, for the first time, assembled and characterised in detail the mitochondrial genome of this species that is in need of genomic resources. The mitogenome of Musonycteris harrisoni is 16,668 bp in length and encodes 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNA genes (tRNAs), two ribosomal RNA genes (rRNAs), and a relatively long non-coding putative control region (CR) 1229 bp in length. Mitochondrial synteny is identical to that reported before in the family Phyllostomidae. As reported before in all phyllostomids, most mitochondrial genes are encoded on the heavy strand (H-strand), except for nad6 and eight tRNA genes that are encoded on the light strand (L-strand). All the tRNAs exhibit a ‘cloverleaf’ secondary structure, except tRNA Serine-1 that is missing the dihydrouridine (DHU) arm. All 13 mitochondrial PCGs are evolving under purifying selection, with atp8, nad4l and nad6 experiencing relaxed purifying selection in comparison to the other PCGs. Tandem repeats, microsatellites, and hairpin structures are observed in the CR of Musonycteris harrisoni, in agreement with what has been reported before in other cofamilial bats. The CR contains three functional domains: extended termination associated sequence (ETAS) domain, central domain, and conserved sequence block (CSB) domain. The mitochondrial genome sequence herein characterised completely and in detail represents a new genomic resource for M. harrisoni that will further the understanding of genetic diversity in this endangered species.