First mitochondrial genome of the Egyptian mongoose Herpestes ichneumon (Carnivora, Herpestidae)

Liliane Boukhdoud; Lillian D Parker; Nancy Rotzel McInerney; Carole Saliba; Rhea Kahale; Jesús E Maldonado; Magda Bou Dagher Kharrat

doi:10.1080/23802359.2021.1875927

First mitochondrial genome of the Egyptian mongoose Herpestes ichneumon (Carnivora, Herpestidae)

Mitochondrial DNA B Resour. 2021 Feb 19;6(2):624-626. doi: 10.1080/23802359.2021.1875927.

Authors

Liliane Boukhdoud¹, Lillian D Parker^{2

3}, Nancy Rotzel McInerney², Carole Saliba¹, Rhea Kahale¹, Jesús E Maldonado^{2

3}, Magda Bou Dagher Kharrat¹

Affiliations

¹ Laboratoire Biodiversité et Génomique Fonctionnelle, Faculté des Sciences, Université Saint-Joseph, Beirut, Lebanon.
² Center for Conservation Genomics, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Washington, DC, USA.
³ School of Systems Biology, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA.

Abstract

The Egyptian mongoose, Herpestes ichneumon, is the only extant mongoose in Europe, with populations still distributed in Africa and the Middle East. In this study, we present the first mitochondrial genome sequence of Herpestes ichneumon and we investigate its phylogenetic position within Feliformia suborder. The resultant mitogenome sequence is 16,775 bps, composed of a conserved set of 37 genes containing 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, 2 rRNA genes, and a control region. Our results represent a valuable resource for further phylogeographical studies.

Keywords: DNA; Eastern Mediterranean Region; Egyptian mongoose; Herpestes ichneumon; Herpestidae; Historical; mitochondrial genome.

Grants and funding

The project was funded by grants from the Convention on Biological Diversity under FERI ‘Forest Ecosystem Restoration Initiative’ program, from the U.S. embassy in Lebanon and from the Research Council of Saint-Joseph University USJ FS-150.