Complete Mitochondrial Genome of Blue-Throated Bee-eater Merops viridis (Coraciiformes: Meropidae) with its Taxonomic Consideration
Complete Mitochondrial Genome of Blue-Throated Bee-eater Merops viridis (Coraciiformes: Meropidae) with its Taxonomic Consideration
Zuhao Huang1, Feiyun Tu2 and Dianhua Ke1*
ABSTRACT
Blue-throated Bee-eater Merops viridis (Coraciiformes: Meropidae) is a bird species of family Meropidae with a very large distribution. The complete mitochondrial genome of Blue-throated Bee-eater M. viridis was determined. The mitogenome is a circular DNA molecule of 18,295 bp and comprises of 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, two rRNA genes and two control regions CR and CCR, which was first reported in the order Coraciiformes. The overall A+T content for the mitogenome is 52%, and the GC and AT skews are -0.400 and 0.108. Unlike to many other birds, no extra base is inserted at certain position relative to ND3. Interestingly, a 484bp repeated sequence appears in both CR and CCR. Genetic distance shows that the differences between M. v. viridis and M. v. americanus is higher than that M. v. viridis vs M. leschenaulti based on Cyt b gene. Morphology, geographical distribution and genetic data suggest the elevation of M. v. americanus to a full species Rufous-crowned Bee-eater M. americanus, supporting the latest taxonomic arrangement by IUCN.
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