The complete mitochondrial genome of Fulica atra (Avian, Gruiformes, Rallidae).

To analyze the gene structure and the evolutionary roadmap of Fulica atra, the complete mitogenome is sequenced. It is composed of 37 genes and 1 control region, and the structure and arrangement of all genes are identical to other Rallidae. The comparative mitogenome revealed that the start codon and stop codon varied in Rallidae, and the gene lengths are different in ND2, COX1, ND3, ND5 and CYTB due to incompleteness of stop codon, frameshift mutation and various numbers of amino acids. We analyzed the correlation between phylogeny and gene characteristic in Rallidae with respect to the usage of start/stop codon and gene length, but no correlation was found. It indicates these discrepancies might happen independently. This work can afford an in-depth insight of phyletic evolution in Rallidae.