Mitogenome of Fejervarya multistriata: a novel gene arrangement and its evolutionary implications

In this study, we determined the complete nucleotide sequence of the mitochondrial (mt) DNA of the paddy frog Fejervarya multistriata. mtDNA is 17,750-bp long and contains 13 protein-coding regions, 2 ribosomal RNA, non-coding genes, and 23 tRNA because of the presence of an extra copy of tRNA-Met. The gene arrangements among two related species of Fejervarya were compared, and the combined mtDNA data were subjected to a phylogenetic analysis. Interestingly, we observed a unique translocation of the tRNA-Leu gene, similar to that reported in previous studies on two Fejervarya species. Phylogenetic analyses supported the classification into two evolutionary clades, Ranidae and Dicroglossidae, as well as placement of Hylarana guentheri in the genus Babina. Our results suggested that Fejervarya limnocharis and Fejervarya multistriata may be conspecific, because of its low pairwise genetic distance. However, these results must be further validated with additional analyses.