Characterization of the complete mitochondrial genome of the mole salamander Ambystoma talpoideum (Caudata: Ambystomatidae)

The mole salamander Ambystoma talpoideum is native to southeastern and central United States, and is listed as a threatened or endangered species by local governments due to anthropogenic disturbance. Here, its mitochondrial genome was characterized from Illumina sequencing reads. The genome is 16,358 bp long with an asymmetric nucleotide composition (34.6% A, 21.1% C, 13.4% G & 30.9% T; light strand), and harbors 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 tRNA genes, two rRNAs genes and one control region. All PCGs are initiated with the typical ATG codon except for COX1 with GTG as its start codon, and are terminated with TAA, TAG, AGA or the incomplete TA(a)/T(aa) codon. There are seven intergenic spacer and six intergenic overlapping regions with a total length of 254 and 37 bp, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis corroborated the current taxonomic framework of the suborder Salamandroidea, and suggested that A. talpoideum is closely related to its congeners.