Comparative Analyses of the White-lipped Tree Frog, Polypedates leucomystax, Using Mitochondrial Genomes

Abstract

We determined the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of the White-lipped Tree Frog, Polypedates leucomystax, in Okinawa, Japan, from a single individual. The mitochondrial genome encoded 13 protein-coding genes, two rRNAs, 22 tRNAs, and two control regions (D-loops). When compared using full-length mitochondrial genome sequences, our mitochondrial genome is most similar to that of P. leucomystax from Thailand (94.5%). From the phylogenetic analysis of partial mitochondrial genome sequences, P. leucomystax was divided into three subgroups: western (Myanmar), central (Malaysia and Thailand), and central/eastern (Indonesia, Philippines, and Japan). The mitochondrial genome sequences from the Okinawa and Thailand frogs were representative sequences of central/eastern and central subgroups, respectively. In spite of the high similarity between the Okinawa and Thailand frogs’ mitochondrial genome sequences, we found a difference in length and the sequence in the second D-loop. In this region, we found a repetitive sequence region, which was composed of an 86-bp sequence with 13- and 14-bp spacer sequences. The repetitive sequence regions were different in length, copy number, the combination of the 86-bp, and the spacer sequences among eight individuals of P. leucomystax in Okinawa, Japan.