Confirmation of the first intronic sequence in the bivalvian mitochondrial genome of Macoma balthica (Linnaeus, 1758)

Abstract

In 2020, the first male-type mitochondrial genome from the clam Macoma balthica was published. Apart from the unusual doubly uniparental inheritance of mtDNA, scientists observed a unique (over 4k bp long) extension in the middle of the cox2 gene. We have attempted to replicate these data by NGS DNA sequencing and explore further the expression of the long cox2 gene. In our study, we report an even longer cox2 gene (over 5.5 kbp) with no stop codon separating conserved cox2 domains, as well as, based on the rtPCR, a lower relative gene expression pattern of the middle part of the gene (5′ = 1; mid = 0.46; 3′ = 0.89). Lastly, we sequenced the cox2 gene transcript proving the excision of the intronic sequence.