ABSTRACT: Some populations of the East Asian minnow Pungtungia herzi Herzenstein, 1892, which are naturally distributed in western Japan, have declined and are considered endangered. However, P. herzi has become a domestic invasive species in eastern Japan. Thus, knowledge of genetic features and phylogenetic relationships of P. herzi is important for conservation of this species and understanding its impact on ecosystems. We analyzed the complete mitochondrial genome using next generation sequencing of the East Asian minnow P. herzi from Yodo River, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. The mitochondrial genome of P. herzi consists of a circular molecule of 16,599 bp that includes 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 tRNA genes, two rRNA genes, and one control region. The heavy (H)-strand was predicted to have 12 PCGs, 14 tRNA, and two rRNA genes, while the light (L)-strand was predicted to contain one PCGs and eight tRNA genes. The average AT content was 57.68%. The genes ATP8 and ATP6, ATP6 and COIII, ND4L and ND4, and ND5 and ND6 shared seven, one, seven, and four nucleotides, respectively. The initiation codons ATG and GTG were found in 12 and one genes, respectively. The termination codons TAA, TAG, incomplete TA-, and single T-- were observed in nine, one, one, and two genes, respectively. All the tRNA genes possessed a cloverleaf secondary structure. The phylogenetic relationships inferred using 13 PCGs (based on the maximum likelihood) were consistent with previous studies that predicted interrelationships of Cypriniformes.
