Abstract
Anderson’s White-bellied Rat, Niviventer andersoni (Thomas, 1911)
(Muridae, Niviventer) is an species endemic to China. In the
present study, we have sequenced the first complete mitochondrial genome
of N. andersoni using next-generation sequencing. The 16,291 bp
mitochondrial genome consists of 22 transfer RNA genes, 13
protein-coding genes (PCGs), two ribosomal RNA genes, and one non-coding
control region (D-Loop). Phylogenetic analyses of the nucleotide
sequences of all 13 PCGs, PCGs minus ND6 and the entire mitogenome
sequence except for the D-loop, produce nearly identical, well-resolved
topologies. Our results support that N. andersoni clustered with
N. excelsior and form a sister group with N. confucianus,
and they statistically reject the hypothesis from one cytochrome b
(cytb) gene tree that N. confucianus is sister to N.
fulvescens. Our research may be helpful to further reconsideration of
clearer taxonomy and improve our understanding of mitogenomic evolution
in the genus Niviventer.