Polydora hoplura Claparede 1868 (Polychaeta, Spionidae) is a mollusk shell-boring species which has been reported as a harmful species. In the present study, we sequenced and reported the mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of P. hoplura from Korea. Its mitogenome was determined by long range PCR and primer walking. The mitogenome was found to be 17,707 bp in length and contained two ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs), 23 transfer RNAs (tRNAs), and 12 protein-coding genes which showed different gene arrangement with that in related mitogenomes of species of Sedentaria (Annelida). Interestingly, the atp8 gene was not found in the mitogenome of P. hoplura, whereas it is present in the mitogenomes of related species P. brevipalpa and P. websteri. Moreover, nad2 (3' end) and cox1 (5' end) genes overlapped in 23 bases. The mitogenome structure and gene contents of P. hoplura provide useful information on the evolution and phylogenetic relationship among polychaete species.
Keywords: Polychaeta; Polydora hoplura; abalone shell-boring species; mitogenome.
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