In this study, we report the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of western painted turtle, Chrysemys picta bellii. The genome is found to be 16,875 bp in length and has a base composition of A (34.4%), G (13.0%), C (26.0%), and T (26.6%). Similar to other turtles, it contains a typically conserved structure including 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes, and 1 control region (D-loop). Most of the genes are encoded on H-strand, except for the eight tRNA and ND6 genes. All protein-coding genes start with an ATN codon except for COX1 and ND4, which initiate with GTG instead, and terminate with the typical stop codon (TAA/TAG) or a single T (T-) or an unexpected codon of AGG. The complete mitochondrial genome sequence provided here would be useful for further phylogenetic analysis and conservation genetic studies in C. p. bellii.
Keywords: C. picta bellii; genome; mitochondrion; western painted turtle.