Characterization of the complete mitochondrial genome of Monticola rufiventris and phylogenetic implications

Monticola rufiventris belongs to the order Passeriformes and the family Muscicapidae. As the largest group of birds, the phylogenetic relationships within Passeriformes have been a hot topic of research; however, studies on the genus Monticola within Passeriformes are relatively limited. This study presents the first comprehensive sequencing and analysis of the mitochondrial genome of M. rufiventris. Using Illumina Novaseq 6000 for paired-end sequencing, the results show that the mitochondrial genome of M. rufiventris is 16,803 bp, containing 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes, and 1 control region. Its structure is similar to that of known members of the Muscicapidae family, but there are some differences in gene size. Based on these data, we conducted mitochondrial assembly, selective pressure analysis, relative synonymous codon usage (RSCU) analysis, structural prediction of the 22 tRNAs, and phylogenetic tree construction. This study adds new data to the avian mitochondrial genome database, enhances the understanding of the Monticola mitochondrial genome, and provides valuable information for future research in avian taxonomy and phylogenetics.