Hucho bleekeri, a glacial relict and freshwater resident salmonid fish, is endemic to the Yangtze River drainage in China. This species has important significances for studies of biogeography, evolution, phylogeny, ecology, reproduction and development. The complete mitochondrial genome of H. bleekeri was sequenced and characterized. The genome is 16,837 bp in length and contains 13 protein-coding genes, 2 ribosomal RNAs, 22 transfer RNAs, and a non-coding control region. The gene arrangement and nucleotide composition of the mitochondrial genome are similar to those of H. taimen. An 82 bp tandem repeat was identified in the control region. We conclude that the control region is variable in length and copy number of repeat between and within species. The complete mitochondrial DNA of H. bleekeri should be useful to study population genetics, biogeography, speciation and adaptive evolution of this lineage.
Keywords: Control region; Hucho bleekeri; Salmonidae; Shaanxi Province; mitochondrial genome.