Diagnosis of an unidentified sturgeon species using the complete mitochondrial DNA

A sturgeon of unknown species of 11 kg body weight was caught in Gosung-gun, Gangwon Province, Korea (38°17'10.67″N, 128°33'20.28″E). The morphological characteristics were similar to species of the genus Acipenser such as Acipenser medirostris, A. schrenckii and A. baerii, but it was not an obvious match. To identify the species using genetic tools, we analysed the complete mitogenome of this unidentified sturgeon, and found it to comprise 16,526 bp. The genome encoded 2 rRNAs, 22 tRNAs, 13 protein-coding genes and 1 control region. The nucleotide divergence between the complete mitogenome of the unidentified sturgeon and those of four Acipenser spp. (A. transmontanus, A. dabryanus, A. schrenckii and A. baerii) was 0.736%, 3.875%, 0.085% and 5.580%, respectively. This study suggests that the unidentified sturgeon is able to predict the least maternal lines with A. schrenckii.