A new mitochondrial genome for the Illinois Spring Cavefish, Forbesichthys agassizii

The Spring Cavefish is a species of conservation concern in Illinois due to habitat degradation and limited survey data. Traditional methods for detecting this species are often hindered by the difficulty in accessing its habitat, leading to a limited understanding of its distribution and ecology. Advances in environmental DNA techniques offer a promising way to more precisely determine F. agassizii’s distribution, but the lack of a reference mitochondrial genome for F. agassizii impedes the development of effective detection assays. In this study, we assembled a complete mitochondrial genome for F. agassizii using existing SRA data.