Complete mitochondrial genome sequence of Pyropia yezoensis (Bangiales, Rhodophyta) from Korea

Species of the genera Porphyra and Pyropia are the major seaweed cultivars in Korea, Japan, and China. Genomic data from Porphyra/Pyropia species is now being used for molecular breeding and bioengineering. We determined the complete mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) sequence of Pyropia yezoensis (Bangiales, Rhodophyta) from Korea. Pyropia yezoensis mtDNA was 35,596 bp in size and exhibited high sequence similarity to Py. yezoensis mtDNA reported from China (NC_017837; 41,688 bp). However, the Korean Py. yezoensis differed from the Chinese strain in the presence/absence of introns and intronic open reading frames of the ribosomal RNA large subunit gene (rnl) and cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene (cox1). These differences result in large variations between the mtDNA of the two strains of Py. yezoensis. Moreover, the Korean strain had a single copy of the trnfM–trnQ region, as compared to a duplicate copy of Py. yezoensis (NC_017837). Pyropia mtDNA exhibited unique genetic features at the intra- and interspecies levels. Therefore, mtDNA genomics can provide novel knowledge for red algal molecular systematics and help to differentiate between cultivars of Pyropia species with new molecular markers.