We determined the complete nucleotide sequence of the mitochondrial genome
for a Japanese sardine, Sardinops melanostictus (Teleostei: Clupeiformes).
The entire genome was purified by gene amplification using long polymerase
chain reactions (PCR), and the products were subsequently used as templates
for PCR with 30 sets of fish-versatile primers (including three species-sp
ecific primers) that amplify contiguous, overlapping segments of the entire
genome. Direct sequencing of the PCR products demonstrated that the genome
[16881 base pairs (bp)] contained the same 37 mitochondrial structural gen
es (two ribosomal RNA, 22 transfer RNA, and 13 protein-coding genes) as fou
nd in other vertebrates, with the gene order identical to that in typical v
ertebrates. A major non-coding region between the tRNA(Pro) and tRNA(Phe) g
enes (1200 bp) was considered as the control (D-loop) region, as it has sev
eral conservative blocks characteristic to this region.