Abstract
The phylogenetic position of Xenoturbella bocki has been a matter of controversy since its description in 1949. We sequenced a second complete mitochondrial genome of this species and performed phylogenetic analyses based on the amino acid sequences of all 13 mitochondrial protein-coding genes and on its gene order. Our results confirm the deuterostome relationship of Xenoturbella. However, in contrast to a recently published study (Bourlat et al. in Nature 444:85–88, 2006), our data analysis suggests a more basal branching of Xenoturbella within the deuterostomes, rather than a sister-group relationship to the Ambulacraria (Hemichordata and Echinodermata).
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Acknowledgment
The project was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft under the auspices of SPP-1174 Deep Metazoan Phylogeny, Projects HA 2103/4-1, SCHL 229/14-1, STA 850/2-1, and STA 850/3-1.
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Perseke, M., Hankeln, T., Weich, B. et al. The mitochondrial DNA of Xenoturbella bocki: genomic architecture and phylogenetic analysis. Theory Biosci. 126, 35–42 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12064-007-0007-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12064-007-0007-7