Recombinant mitochondrial genome with standard transmission route from Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis

Several bivalve species, including marine mussels Mytilus are atypical in having two gender-specific and highly divergent mtDNA genomes. This peculiar genetic system allows not only the recombination to occur but also facilitates its detection. Previous reports associated the existence of mosaic recombinant haplotypes with the switch of their transmission route. Here we report nearly complete sequence of a mitochondrial genome isolated from a homoplasmic female individual of Mediterranean Mytilus galloprovincialis. The genome has clear phylogenetic affinity with and organization identical to the M. galloprovincialis female haplotypes, in the coding part. However, the genome is very large, approximately 20,600 bp long, exclusively due to a long and complex control region. It contains an array of repeats, some of which are degenerated. A large part of the control region is derived from the paternal genome. This finding shows that not all haplotypes with recombinant control regions must be paternally inherited in Mytilus.