In this study, the complete mitochondrial genome of the Epinephelus polyphekadion has been sequenced by the next-generation sequencing (NGS) techniques strategy. The mitochondrial genome is 16,691 bp in length and consists of 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes and a control region. The nucleotide compositions of the light strand are 27.90% A, 29.05% T, 27.48% G and 15.58% C. With the exception of ND6 and eight tRNA genes, all other mitochondrial genes are encoded on the heavy-strand (H-strand). All the tRNAs have clover secondary structure with conservative anticodon arm, TΨC arm and D arm except for tRNA-Ser(GCT) and tRNA-Pro(TGG), which D arm consists of 13 bp and 7 bp single-base, respectively. Phylogenetic tree showed that E. latifasciatus, E. polyphekadion, E. epistictus, E. akaara and E. stictus of the Epinephelus formed a monophyletic group, whereas E. latifasciatus, E. polyphekadion and E. epistictus formed a sister group.
Keywords: DNA maker; Epinephelus polyphekadion; mitochondrial genome.