Characteristics of the mitochondrial genome of Qinling zokor (Eospalax rufescens).

We report the complete mitochondrial genome for the Eospalax rufescens, a typical subterranean rodent species and endemic in China. The resulting E. rufescens mitogenome is 16,355 bases in size, containing 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 2 ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, and 1 noncoding control region (D-loop). The base compositions present highly biased toward A + T nucleotides. Moreover, twelve of all 13 PCGs initiated with ATN start codon, whereas ND1 began with GTG start codon. Stop codons in 13 PCGs were all typical types except incomplete stop codon T for ND4. We further provide a Maximum Likelihood phylogenetic tree showing relationships among E. rufescens and other common subterranean rodents in family Spalacidae.