Structure of mitochondrial DNA control region of Pholis fangi and its phylogenetic implication

In this study, the entire mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region (CR) of Pholis fangi was amplified via polymerase chain reaction followed by direct sequencing. The length of the mtDNA CR consensus sequence of P. fangi was 853 bp in length. In accordance with the recognition sites as were previously reported in fish species, the mtDNA CR sequence of P. fangi can be divided into 3 domains, i.e., the extended terminal associated sequence (ETAS), the central conserved sequence block (CSB), and the CSB domain. In addition, the following structures were identified in the mtDNA CR sequence of P. fangi: 2 ETASs in the ETAS domain (TAS and cTAS), 6 CSBs in the central CSB domain (CSB-F to CSB-A), and 3 CSBs in the CSB domain (CSB-1 to CSB-3). These demonstrated that the structure of the mtDNA CR of P. fangi was substantially different from those of most other fish species. The mtDNA CR sequence of P. fangi contained one conserved region from 656 bp to 815 bp. Similar to most other fish species, P. fangi has no tandem repeat sequences in its mtDNA CR sequence. Phylogenetic analysis based on the complete mtDNA CR sequences showed that there were no genetic differences within P. fangi populations of the same geographical origin and between P. fangi populations of different geographical origins.