Molecular evolution on the genus Eptesicus (Chiroptera:Vespertilionidae)
Mitochondrial genome, Mammalia, substitution rates.
Molecular data are currently important sources of information for reconstructing the evolutionary history of different organisms. Phylogenetic relationships reconstructed from genetic data can profoundly contribute to improving the inference of macroecological and biogeographical patterns, providing the necessary information for testing robust hypotheses using comparative biology methods. The main objective of this work was to investigate the rates of molecular evolution of the mitochondrial genome of the family Vespertilionidae, using the description of four unpublished mitochondrial genomes of species of the genus Eptesicus. Thus, we describe the complete mitochondrial genomes of four Eptesicus species: Eptesicus brasiliensis, Eptesicus diminutus, Eptesicus furinalis and Eptesicus nilssonii. Based on the size of the described mitogenomes, the bat Eptesicus brasiliensis resulted in a total length of 16,864 bp, Eptesicus diminutus with a length of 17,027 bp, Eptesicus furinalis with a length of 16,838 bp and Eptesicus nilssonii with a length of 17,009 bp. The mitochondrial genome of Eptesicus brasiliensis consists of 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes and two rRNA genes, and a control region (CR). While the mitochondrial genome of Eptesicus diminutus consists of 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, two rRNA genes and a control region (CR). Eptesicus furinalis has a mitogenome with 13 protein coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, two rRNA genes and a control region (CR). The mitochondrial genome of Eptesicus nilssonii has 13 protein coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, two rRNA genes and a control region (CR). The results indicate that the estimated mean mutation rate in coding genes was 0.01 mutations per site per million years, while in ribosomal genes it was about 0.007 mutations per site per million years. It was observed that the ND5, ND6 and ND4 genes had a higher relative mutation rate, while the ND4, ND6, ND1, ND2 and ND4L genes had a higher molecular clock rates. These information are important resources to understand the evolution and diversification of bats of the Vespertilionidae family, and eill also contribute to future research in the area.