Skip to main content

Advertisement

Springer Nature Link
Log in

The complete mitochondrial genome structure of snow leopard Panthera uncia

  • Published:
Molecular Biology Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The complete mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) of snow leopard Panthera uncia was obtained by using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique based on the PCR fragments of 30 primers we designed. The entire mtDNA sequence was 16 773 base pairs (bp) in length, and the base composition was: A—5,357 bp (31.9%); C—4,444 bp (26.5%); G—2,428 bp (14.5%); T—4,544 bp (27.1%). The structural characteristics [0] of the P. uncia mitochondrial genome were highly similar to these of Felis catus, Acinonyx jubatus, Neofelis nebulosa and other mammals. However, we found several distinctive features of the mitochondrial genome of Panthera unica. First, the termination codon of COIII was TAA, which differed from those of F. catus, A. jubatus and N. nebulosa. Second, tRNASer (AGY), which lacked the ‘‘DHU’’ arm, could not be folded into the typical cloverleaf-shaped structure. Third, in the control region, a long repetitive sequence in RS-2 (32 bp) region was found with 2 repeats while one short repetitive segment (9 bp) was found with 15 repeats in the RS-3 region. We performed phylogenetic analysis based on a 3 816 bp concatenated sequence of 12S rRNA, 16S rRNA, ND2, ND4, ND5, Cyt b and ATP8 for P. uncia and other related species, the result indicated that P. uncia and P. leo were the sister species, which was different from the previous findings.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Boore JL (1999) Animal mitochondrial genomes. Nucleic Acids Res 27(8):1767–1780

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. O’Brien SJ (1994) Genetic and phylogenetic analyses of endangered species. Annu Rev Genet 28:467–489

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. D’Erchia AM, Gissi C, Pesole G, Saccone C, Arnason U (1996) The guinea-pig is not a rodent. Nature 381:597–600

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Penny D, Hasegawa M (1997) The platypus put in its place. Nature 387:549–550

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Anderson S, Bankier AT, Barrell BG, de Bruijn MH, Coulson AR, Drouin J, Nierlich DP, Roe BA, Sanger FH, Smith J, Staden R, Young IG (1981) Sequence and organization of the human mitochondrial genome. Nature (London) 290:457–465

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Kim KS, Seong EL, Ho WJ, Ji HH (1998) The complete nucleotide sequence of the domestic dog (Canis familiariz) mitochondrial genome. Mol Phylogenet Evol 10:210–220

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Janczewski DN, Modi WS, Stephens JC, O’Brien SJ (1995) Molecular evolution of mitochondrial 12S RNA and cytochrome b sequencse in the Pantherine lineage of Felidae. Mol Biol Evol 12:690–707

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Vila C, Savolainen P, Maldonado JE, Amorim IR, Rice JE, Honeycutt RL, Crandall KA, Lundeberg J, Wayne RK (1997) Multiple and ancient origins of the domestic dog. Science 276:1687–1689

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Arnason U, Johnsson E (1992) The complete mitochondrial DNA sequence of the harbor seal, Phoca vitulina. J Mol Evol 34:493–505

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Cao Y, Adachi J, Janke A, Paabo S, Hasegawa M (1994) Phylogenetic relationships among eutherian orders estimated from inferred sequences of mitochondrial proteins: instability of tree based on a single gene. J Mol Evol 39:519–527

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Xu X, Arnason U (1996) The mitochondrial DNA molecule of Sumatran orangutan and a molecular proposal for two (Bornean and Sumatran) species of orangutan. J Mol Evol 43:431–437

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Boore JL, Macey JR, Medina M (2005) Sequencing and comparing whole mitochondrial genomes of animals. Methods Enzymol 395:311–348

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Masuda R, Lopez JV, Pecon Slattery J, Yuhki N, O’Brien SJ (1996) Molecular phylogeny of mitochondrial cytochrome b and 12S rRNA sequences in the Felidae: ocelot and domestic cat lineages. Mol Phylogenet Evol 3:351–365

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Pecon SJ, Johnson WE, Goldman D, O’Brien SJ (1994) Phylogenetic reconstruction of South American felids defined by protein electrophoresis. J Mol Evol 39:296–305

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Johnson WE, O’Brien SJ (1997) Phylogenetic reconstruction of the felidae using 16SrRNA and NADH-5 mitochondrial genes. Mol Evol 44(1):98–116

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Li Y, Zhang YP (2005) Phylogenetic studies of pantherine cats (Felidae) based on multiple genes, with novel application of nuclear β-fibrinogen intron 7 to carniores. Mol Phyl Evol 35:483–495

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Johnson WE, Eizirik E, Slatter JP, Murphy WJ, Antunes A, Teeling E, O’Brien SJ (2006) The late miocene radiation of modern Felidae: a genetic assessment. Science 311:73–77

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Lopez JV, Cevario S, O’Brien SJ (1996) Complete nucleotide sequences of the Domestic cat (Felis catus) mitochondrial genome and a transposed mtDNA tandem repeat (Numt) in the nuclear genome. Genomics 33:229–246

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Burger PA, Steinborn R, Walzer C, Petit T, Mueller M, Schwarzenberger F (2004) Analysis of the mitochondrial genome of cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) with neurodegenerative disease. Gene 338:111–119

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Wu XB, Zheng T, Jiang ZG, Wei L (2007) The mitochondrial genome structure of the clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa). Genome 50(2):252–257

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Rychlik W, Rychlik P (2000) Oligo Primer Analysis Software. Version6.01. Molecular Biology Insights, Inc., Cascade, Colorado

  22. Altschul SF, Madden TL, Schäer AA, Zhang J, Zhang Z, Miller W, Lipman DJ (1997) Gapped BLAST and PSI-BLAST: a new generation of protein database search programs. Nucleic Acids Res 25:3389–3402

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Thompson JD, Gibson TJ, Plewniak F, Jeanmougin F, Higgins DG (1997) The clustal_X windows interface: xexible strategies for multiple sequence alignment aided by quality analysis tools. Nucleic Acids Res 25(24):4876–4882

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Swofford DL (2003) PAUP*: Phylogenetic Analysis Using Parsimony (*and Other Methods). Version 4.0b10. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, Massachusetts.

  25. Posada D, Crandall KA (1998) MODELTEST: testing the model of DNA substitution. Bioinformatics 14:817–818

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Posada D, Buckley TR (2004) Model selection and model averaging in phylogenetics: advantages of the AIC and Bayesian approaches over likelihood ratio tests. Syst Biol 53:793–808

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Huelsenbeck JP, Ronquist F (2001) MRBAYES: Bayesian inference of phylogenetic trees. Bioinformatics 17(8):754–755

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Rannala B, Yang Z (1996) Probability distribution of molecular evolution trees: a new method of phylogenetic inference. J Mol Evol 43:304–311

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Leaché AD, Reeder TW (2002) Molecular systematics of the eastern fence lizard (Sceloporus undulatus): a comparison of parsimony, likelihood, and Bayesian approaches. Syst Biol 51:44–68

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Felsenstein J (1985) Confidence limits on phylogenies: an approach using the bootstrap. Evolution 39:783–791

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Hedges SB (1992) The number of replications needed for accurate estimation of the bootstrap P value in phylogenetic studies. Mol Biol Evol 9:366–369

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Huelsenbeck JP, Hillis DM (1993) Success of phylogenetic methods in the four-taxon case. Syst Biol 42:247–264

    Google Scholar 

  33. Ursing BM, Arnason U (1998) The complete mitochondrial DNA sequence of the pig (Sus scrofa). J Mol Evol 47:302–306

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Gissi C, Gullberg A, Arnason U (1998) The Complete mitochondrial DNA sequence of the Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). Genomics 50:161–169

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Xu X, Gullberg A, Arnason U (1996) The complete mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of the donkey and mtDNA comparisons among four closely related mammalian species-pairs. J Mol Evol 43(5):438–446

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. Ojala D, Monotoya J, Attardi G (1981) tRNA punctuation model of RNA processing in human mitochondria. Nature (London) 290:470–474

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Sumida M, Kanamori Y, Kaneda H, Kato Y, Nishioka M, Hasegawa M, Yonekawa H (2001) Complete nucleotide sequence and gene rearrangement of the mitochondrial genome of the Japanese pond frog Rana nigromaculata. Genes Genet Syst 76:311–325

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  38. Sano N, Kurabayashi A, Fujii T, Yonekawa H, Sumida M (2004) Complete nucleotide sequence and gene rearrangement of the mitochondrial genome of the bellring frog, Buergeria buergeri (family Rhacophoridae). Genes Genet Syst 79(3):151–163

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. Wu XB, Wang YQ, Zhou KY, Zhu WQ, Nie JS, Wang CL (2003) Complete mitochondrial DNA sequence of Chinese alligator, Alligator sinensis, and phylogeny of crocodiles. Chin Sci Bull 48(19):2050–2054

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  40. Janke A, Arnason U (1997) The complete mitochondrial genome of Alligator mississippiensis and the separation between recent archosauria (birds and crocodiles). Mol Biol Evol 14:1266–1272

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. Janke A, Erpenbeck D, Nilsson M, Arnason U (2001) The mitochondrial genomes of the iguana (Iguana iguana) and the caiman (Caiman crocodylus): implications for amniote phylogeny. Proc Biol Sci 268:623–631

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  42. Sun Y, Ma F, Xiao B, Zheng JJ, Yuan XD, Tang MQ, Wang L, Yu YF, Li QW (2004) The complete mitochondrial genomes sequences of Asio flammeus and Asio otus and comparative analysis. Sci China Ser C Life Sci 47(6):510–520

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  43. Hu M, Chilton NB, Gasser RB (2003) The mitochondrial genome of Strongyloides stercoralis (Nematoda)—idiosyncratic gene order and evolutionary implications. Int J Parasitol 33:1393–1408

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  44. Frazer-Abel AA, Hagerman PJ (1999) Determination of the angle between the acceptor and anticodon stems of a truncated mitochondrial tRNA. J Mol Biol 85(2):581–593

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. Jae-Heup K, Eizirik E, O’Brien SJ, Johnson WE (2001) Structure and patterns of sequence variation in the mitochondrial DNA control region of the great cats. Mitochondrion 14:279–292

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. Freeman AR, Machug DE, McKeown S, Walzer C, McConnell DJ, Bradley DG (2001) Sequence variation in the mitochondrial DNA control region of wild African cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus). Heredity 86:355–362

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  47. Cracraft J, Feinstein J, Vaughn, Helm-Bychowski K (1998) Sorting out tigers (Panthera tigris): mitochondrial sequences, nuclear inserts, systematics, and conservation genetics. Anim Conserv 1:63–74

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. Delarbre C, Rasmussen AS, Arnason U, Gachelin G (2001) The complete mitochondrial genome of the hagfish Myxine glutinosa: unique features of the control region. J Mol Evol 53:634–641

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  49. Delport W, Ferguson JW, Bloomer P (2002) Characterization and evolution of the mitochondrial DNA control region in hornbills (Bucerotiformes). J Mol Evol 54:794–806

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  50. Casane D, Dennebouy N, de Rochambeau H, Mounolou JC, Monnerot M (1997) Nonneutral evolution of tandem repeats in the mitochondrial DNA control region of Lagomorphs. J Mol Biol Evol 14:779–789

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  51. Bininda-Emonds OR, Gittleman JL, Purvis A (1999) Building large trees by combining phylogenetic information: a complete phylogeny of the extant Carnivora (Mammalia). Biol Rev 74:143–175

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  52. Kurten B, Anderson E (1980) Pleistocene mammals of North America. Columbia University Press, New York, pp 108–118

  53. Wayne RK, Benveniste RE, Janczewski DN, O'Brien SJ (1989) Molecular and biochemical evolution of the Carnivora. In: Gittleman JL (ed) Carnivore behaviour, ecology and evolution. Chapman and Hall, London, pp 465–494

  54. Mattern MY, McLennan DA (2000) Phylogeny and speciation of felids. Cladistics 16:232–253

    Article  Google Scholar 

  55. Bininda-Emonds OR (2001) The utility of chemical signals as phylogenetic characters: an example from the felidae. Biol J Linn Soc 72:1–15

    Article  Google Scholar 

  56. Buckley-Beason VA, Johnson WE, Nash WG, Stanyon R, Menninger JC, Driscoll CA, Howard J, Bush M, Page JE, Roelke ME, Stone G, Martelli PP, Wen C, Ling L, Duraisingam RK, Lam PV, O’Brien SJ (2006) Molecular evidence for species-level distinctions in clouded leopards. Curr Biol 16(23):2371–2376

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Aknowledgements

This work was supported by grants from Knowledge Innovation Project of Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. CXTDS2005–4), National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC, No.30470244), Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education (20070370002), the Fund for Leading Scientist of Science and Technology in Anhui and Key Laboratory of Biotic Environment and Ecological Safety in Anhui Province, China.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Anhui Provincial Key Lab of the Conservation and Exploitation of Biological Resources, College of Life Sciences, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, 241000, China

    Lei Wei & Xiaobing Wu

  2. Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100080, China

    Zhigang Jiang

Authors
  1. Lei Wei
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  2. Xiaobing Wu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  3. Zhigang Jiang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xiaobing Wu.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Wei, L., Wu, X. & Jiang, Z. The complete mitochondrial genome structure of snow leopard Panthera uncia . Mol Biol Rep 36, 871–878 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-008-9257-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-008-9257-9

Keywords