Complete mitochondrial DNA sequence of the Japanese eel Anguilla japonica

We determined the complete nucleotide sequence of the mitochondrial genome for the Japanese eel Anguilla japonica (Teleostei: Anguilliformes). The ent ire genome was purified by gene amplification using a long polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique, and the products were subsequently used as templ ates for PCR with 60 fish-versatile and six species-specific primers that a mplify contiguous, overlapping segments of the entire genome. Direct sequen cing of the PCR products demonstrated that the genome [16 685 base pairs (b p)l contained the same 37 mitochondrial genes (two ribosomal RNA, 22 transf er RNA and 13 protein-coding genes) as found in other vertebrates, with the gene order identical to that in typical vertebrates. A major non-coding re gion between the tRNA(Pro) and tRNA(Phe) genes (967bp) was considered as th e control region (D-loop), as it has several conservative blocks characteri stic to this region.