Characterization of the complete mitochondrial genome of Conus tribblei Walls, 1977

The genus Conus sensu lato consists of 500-700 species. However, the mitochondrial genomes of only few species have been fully sequenced and reported so far. In this study, the complete mitochondrial genome of Conus tribblei, a member of the poorly known subgenus Splinoconus is sequenced with the mean coverage of 604×. The mitochondrial genome is 15 570 bp long and consists of genes encoding for 13 respiratory chain proteins, 22 tRNA and 2 rRNA. The gene organization is highly conserved among the Conus species. The longest intergenic region between tRNA-Phe and cytochrome c oxidase subunit III (cox3), which in C. tribblei is 169 bp long and contains a 112 bp long segment of inverted repeat, represents the putative control region. The control regions of Conus species exhibited variability in the length and position of the inverted repeats. Therefore, this region may have the potential to be used as a genetic marker for species discrimination.