Abstract

The first complete mitogenome sequence of the Red-tongue Pit Viper (Gloydius ussuriensis) from Korea was characterized using next-generation sequencing. The mitogenome is a circular molecule (17,209 bp) with a typical vertebrate mitogenome arrangement, which consists of 2 ribosomal RNA genes (rRNA), 22 transfer RNA genes (tRNA), two non-coding regions (D-loop), and 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs). The base composition of the mitogenome is 32.7% of A, 27.5% of C, 13.9% of G, and 25.9% of T, with a slight AT bias(58.6%). This phylogenetic analysis infers that G. ussuriensis is in the same group as the Chinese G. ussuriensis (Accession No. KP262412) and is closely related to G. blomhoffi and other species of the genus Gloydius. In our study, the complete mitogenome sequence of Korean G. ussuriensis was characterized and we provided basic genetic information on this species.