The Sequencing Of M.muntjak Mitochondrial Genomes And Its Phylogenetic Relationship Research

We obtained the complete mitochondrial genome of M. muntjak by DNA sequencing based on the PCR fragments of 20 primers we designed. The complete mitochondrial genome is 16 354 base pairs (bp) in length, equal to that of M. reevesi and relatively small compared to other mammals. It contains genes for 22 transfer RNAs, 2 ribosomal RNAs and 13 protein-coding genes, and it also has a displacement region. A putative gene organization for the M. muntjak mitochondrial genome is depicted, which is very similar to that of M. reevesi and other mammals. The sequence has been deposited in GenBank (Accession number NC₀04563). Using the mitochondrial sequences of some species obtained from the GenBank, we discussed the phylogenetic relationships of M.muntjak among the 3 Muntiacinae species, 12 Cervidae species and 7 Cetartiodactyla species. We also discussed the phylogenetic relationship of other related species. Based on the concatenated sequences of 13 protein-coding genes of 3 Muntiacinae species, we constructed the phylogenetic tree. The results show that: M.reevesi is more antique than M.muntjak and M.crinifrons. M.muntjak and M.crinifrons were diverged from an ancestor analogized with Chinese muntjac. Among the 12 Cervidae species(C.elaphus, C.nippon, H.inermis, M.crinifrons, M.muntjak, M.reevesi, A.alces, C.capreolus, C.pygargus, O.hemionus, O.virginianus and R.tarandus), we constructed the phylogenetic tree based on their control region sequences. According to the phylogenetic tree, we suggest: â‘ As a whole, the phylogenetic taxon of the 12 Cervidae species is consistent with the one offered by the NCBI; â‘¡A.alces, a species of Alces (subfamily:Odocoileinae)is most antique among the 12 Cervidae species; â‘¢M.reevesi is more antique than M.muntjak and M.crinifrons ; â‘£H.inermis, belonging to the subfamily Hydropotinae, is merged into the branch which includes C.capreolus and C.pygargus, two species of Capreolus (subfamily: Odocoileinae). Among the 7 Cetartiodactyla species(Finback whale,pig,hippopotamus,alpaca,muntjak,cow and sheep), the phylogenetic tree was constructed based on their concatenated sequences of 13 protein-coding genes. The results show: â‘ those species are divided into 3 clades which are a muntjak-sheep-cow clade, a pig-alpaca clade and a hippopotamus-whale clade; â‘¡the divergence between the muntjak and sheep lineages occurred at 14.7 million years ago and the divergence between the muntjak and cow lineages occurred at 16.0 million years ago; â‘¢there is a closer relationship between muntjak and sheep than that between muntjak and cow.