The complete mitochondrial genome of the gilthead seabream Sparus aurata Linnaeus 1758, one of the world's most important mariculture species, was sequenced using next generation sequencing technology. The genome sequence is comprised of 16,652 bp exhibiting the canonical vertebrate mitochondria gene order. Regions of gene overlap, tRNA length, as well as start and stop codon were similar to those observed in other Sparidae. Phylogenetic reconstructions based on mitochondrial protein coding genes corroborate the view that Sparidae is paraphyletic and includes Centracanthidae.
Keywords: Centracanthidae; mitogenomics; next-generation sequencing; perciformes; phylogeny.