Molecular Biology and Evolution 17:813-824 (2000)
© 2000 Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution
Original Articles |
The Complete Mitochondrial DNA Sequence of the Horseshoe Crab Limulus polyphemus
Department of Biology, University of Michigan
Abstract
We determined the complete 14,985-nt sequence of the mitochondrial DNA of the horseshoe crab Limulus polyphemus (Arthropoda: Xiphosura). This mtDNA encodes the 13 protein, 2 rRNA, and 22 tRNA genes typical for metazoans. The arrangement of these genes and about half of the sequence was reported previously; however, the sequence contained a large number of errors, which are corrected here. The two strands of Limulus mtDNA have significantly different nucleotide compositions. The strand encoding most mitochondrial proteins has 1.25 times as many A's as T's and 2.33 times as many C's as G's. This nucleotide bias correlates with the biases in amino acid content and synonymous codon usage in proteins encoded by different strands and with the number of non–Watson-Crick base pairs in the stem regions of encoded tRNAs. The sizes of most mitochondrial protein genes in Limulus are either identical to or slightly smaller than those of their Drosophila counterparts. The usage of the initiation and termination codons in these genes seems to follow patterns that are conserved among most arthropod and some other metazoan mitochondrial genomes. The noncoding region of Limulus mtDNA contains a potential stem-loop structure, and we found a similar structure in the noncoding region of the published mtDNA of the prostriate tick Ixodes hexagonus. A simulation study was designed to evaluate the significance of these secondary structures; it revealed that they are statistically significant. No significant, comparable structure can be identified for the metastriate ticks Rhipicephalus sanguineus and Boophilus microplus. The latter two animals also share a mitochondrial gene rearrangement and an unusual structure of mt-tRNA(C) that is exactly the same association of changes as previously reported for a group of lizards. This suggests that the changes observed are not independent and that the stem-loop structure found in the noncoding regions of Limulus and Ixodes mtDNA may play the same role as that between trnN and trnC in vertebrates, i.e., the role of lagging strand origin of replication.
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  N. C. Sheffield, H. Song, S. L. Cameron, and M. F. Whiting A Comparative Analysis of Mitochondrial Genomes in Coleoptera (Arthropoda: Insecta) and Genome Descriptions of Six New Beetles Mol. Biol. Evol., November 1, 2008; 25(11): 2499 - 2509. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. E. Masta and J. L. Boore Parallel Evolution of Truncated Transfer RNA Genes in Arachnid Mitochondrial Genomes Mol. Biol. Evol., May 1, 2008; 25(5): 949 - 959. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. K. Fujita, J. L. Boore, and C. Moritz Multiple Origins and Rapid Evolution of Duplicated Mitochondrial Genes in Parthenogenetic Geckos (Heteronotia binoei; Squamata, Gekkonidae) Mol. Biol. Evol., December 1, 2007; 24(12): 2775 - 2786. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
S.-i. Yokobori, N. Fukuda, M. Nakamura, T. Aoyama, and T. Oshima Long-Term Conservation of Six Duplicated Structural Genes in Cephalopod Mitochondrial Genomes Mol. Biol. Evol., November 1, 2004; 21(11): 2034 - 2046. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. E. Masta and J. L. Boore The Complete Mitochondrial Genome Sequence of the Spider Habronattus oregonensis Reveals Rearranged and Extremely Truncated tRNAs Mol. Biol. Evol., May 1, 2004; 21(5): 893 - 902. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
E. Negrisolo, A. Minelli, and G. Valle The Mitochondrial Genome of the House Centipede Scutigera and the Monophyly Versus Paraphyly of Myriapods Mol. Biol. Evol., April 1, 2004; 21(4): 770 - 780. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. M. Serb and C. Lydeard Complete mtDNA Sequence of the North American Freshwater Mussel, Lampsilis ornata (Unionidae): An Examination of the Evolution and Phylogenetic Utility of Mitochondrial Genome Organization in Bivalvia (Mollusca) Mol. Biol. Evol., November 1, 2003; 20(11): 1854 - 1866. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. Navajas, Y. L. Conte, M. Solignac, S. Cros-Arteil, and J.-M. Cornuet The Complete Sequence of the Mitochondrial Genome of the Honeybee Ectoparasite Mite Varroa destructor (Acari: Mesostigmata) Mol. Biol. Evol., December 1, 2002; 19(12): 2313 - 2317. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. L. Roehrdanz, M. E. Degrugillier, and W. C. Black IV Novel Rearrangements of Arthropod Mitochondrial DNA Detected with Long-PCR: Applications to Arthropod Phylogeny and Evolution Mol. Biol. Evol., June 1, 2002; 19(6): 841 - 849. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. L. Boore and J. L. Staton The Mitochondrial Genome of the Sipunculid Phascolopsis gouldii Supports Its Association with Annelida Rather than Mollusca Mol. Biol. Evol., February 1, 2002; 19(2): 127 - 137. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
D. V. Lavrov, J. L. Boore, and W. M. Brown Complete mtDNA Sequences of Two Millipedes Suggest a New Model for Mitochondrial Gene Rearrangements: Duplication and Nonrandom Loss Mol. Biol. Evol., February 1, 2002; 19(2): 163 - 169. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
T. A. Rawlings, T. M. Collins, and R. Bieler A Major Mitochondrial Gene Rearrangement Among Closely Related Species Mol. Biol. Evol., August 1, 2001; 18(8): 1604 - 1609. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
F. Nardi, A. Carapelli, P. P. Fanciulli, R. Dallai, and F. Frati The Complete Mitochondrial DNA Sequence of the Basal Hexapod Tetrodontophora bielanensis: Evidence for Heteroplasmy and tRNA Translocations Mol. Biol. Evol., July 1, 2001; 18(7): 1293 - 1304. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. von Nickisch-Rosenegk, W. M. Brown, and J. L. Boore Complete Sequence of the Mitochondrial Genome of the Tapeworm Hymenolepis diminuta: Gene Arrangements Indicate that Platyhelminths Are Eutrochozoans Mol. Biol. Evol., May 1, 2001; 18(5): 721 - 730. [Abstract] [Full Text]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. Shao, N. J. H. Campbell, and S. C. Barker Numerous Gene Rearrangements in the Mitochondrial Genome of the Wallaby Louse, Heterodoxus macropus (Phthiraptera) Mol. Biol. Evol., May 1, 2001; 18(5): 858 - 865. [Abstract] [Full Text]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 D. V. Lavrov and W. M. Brown Trichinella spiralis mtDNA: A Nematode Mitochondrial Genome That Encodes a Putative ATP8 and Normally Structured tRNAs and Has a Gene Arrangement Relatable to Those of Coelomate Metazoans Genetics, February 1, 2001; 157(2): 621 - 637. [Abstract] [Full Text]
|
|