Complete sequence and gene organization of the mitochondrial genome of the land snail Albinaria coerulea

Abstract

The complete sequence (14,130 bp) of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of the land snail Albinaria coerulea was determined. It contains 13 protein, two rRNA and 22 tRNA genes. Twenty-four of these genes are encoded by one and 13 genes by the other strand. The gene arrangement shares almost no similarities with that of two other molluscs for which the complete gene content and arrangement are known, the bivalve Mytilus edulis and the chiton Katharina tunicata; the protein and rRNA gene order is similar to that of another terrestrial gastropod, Cepaea nemoralis. Unusual features include the following: (1) the absence of lengthy noncoding regions (there are only 141 intergenic nucleotides interspersed at different gene borders, the longest intergenic sequence being 42 nucleotides) (2) the presence of several overlapping genes (mostly tRNAs), (3) the presence of tRNA-like structures and other stem and loop structures within genes. An RNA editing system acting on tRNAs must necessarily be invoked for posttranscriptional extension of the overlapping tRNAs. Due to these features, and also because of the small size of its genes (e.g., it contains the smallest rRNA genes among the known coelomates), it is one of the most compact mitochondrial genomes known to date.