The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of Pterophyllum scalare (Cichliformes: Cichlidae)

Pterophyllum scalare belongs in the family Cichlidae of Cichliformes. This species and its congeners are characterized by a compressed and disc-shaped body with dorsal and anal spiny rays increasing in length from anterior to posterior part of the fin. In this study, we determine and describe the complete mitogenome sequence of Pterophyllum scalare for the first time, which is 16,494 bp in length, and contains 37 genes, including 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNAs, 22 tRNAs, 1 origin of replication on the light-strand (OL) and a putative control region. The overall base composition is 27.5% A, 26.8% T, 30.1% C and 15.6% G, with a slight AT bias (54.3%). All protein-coding genes share the start codon ATG, except for COI that begins with GTG. These results are expected to provide useful molecular data for phylogenetic studies of Cichlidae and Cichliformes. Maximum Likelihood (ML) tree and Bayesian analyses based on partitioned nucleotide sequences of 12 mitochondrial protein-coding genes were constructed and both yielded trees with identical topologies.