Sequencing of a Segment of a Monilophyte Species Mitochondrial Genome Reveals Features Highly Similar to those of Seed Plant mtDNAs

A continuous sequence of 20,374 bp has been produced corresponding to an equivalent region of the mito- chondrial genome of the fern Asplenium nidus. The information content of this sequence includes: several segments from chloroplast origin, three tRNA genes of probable native type, a couple of inverted repeats, three protein genes and a seg- ment of a fourth. Among the tRNA genes trnN, usually from chloroplast origin in the Spermatophyte mitochondrial genomes, shows the characteristics of a native gene.