Characterization of Clarias gariepinus mitochondrial genome sequence and a comparative analysis with other catfishes

Clarias gariepinus is an economically important fish belonging to Siluriformes. In order to understand the characterization of catfishes, the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of the African catfish C. gariepinus was determined using 17 pairs of primers. The complete mitogenome is 16,508 bp in length and contains 37 mitochondrial genes (13 protein-coding, two rRNA, and 22 tRNA genes) and a control region as in most other fishes. Moreover, a comparison of C. gariepinus with Clarias batrachus, Clarias fuscus and Clarias sp. NM-2010 indicated that the four mitogenomics were similar in length, total nucleotide compositions and codon usage patterns, but different in 13 protein-coding genes, control region and other aspects. The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of C. gariepinus would contribute to better understanding of population genetics, conservation, biogeography and evolution of this species.