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Updated: Jul 9, 2026

Genotyping Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in the Mitochondrial Genome by Pyrosequencing
Published on: February 10, 2023
The mitochondrial DNA of Xenoturbella bocki: genomic architecture and phylogenetic analysis
Marleen Perseke1, Thomas Hankeln, Bettina Weich
1Institut für Zoologie, Molekulare Evolution und Systematik der Tiere Universität Leipzig, Talstr. 33, 04103, Leipzig, Germany. perseke@rz.uni-leipzig.de
Abstract:
The phylogenetic position of Xenoturbella bocki has been a matter of controversy since its description in 1949. We sequenced a second complete mitochondrial genome of this species and performed phylogenetic analyses based on the amino acid sequences of all 13 mitochondrial protein-coding genes and on its gene order. Our results confirm the deuterostome relationship of Xenoturbella. However, in contrast to a recently published study (Bourlat et al. in Nature 444:85-88, 2006), our data analysis suggests a more basal branching of Xenoturbella within the deuterostomes, rather than a sister-group relationship to the Ambulacraria (Hemichordata and Echinodermata).
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