MITOCHONDRIAL DNA PART B

2019, VOL. 4, NO. 1, 1217–1218

https://doi.org/10.1080/23802359.2019.1591186

MITOGENOME ANNOUNCEMENT

The complete mitochondrial genome of the Fischer’s Lovebird Agapornis fischeri

(Psittaciformes: Psittacidae)
Hongyi Liu , Ke Jin and Lin Li
The Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University,
Nanjing, China

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

Fischer’s Lovebird (Agapornis fischeri) is one of the most popular pet birds in the world. Here, we first Received 2 January 2019
reported the complete mitochondrial genome of this species. Its mitochondrial genome is a circular Accepted 10 February 2019
molecule of 16,719 bp in size, and all genes exhibit the typical gene arrangement according with most
KEYWORDS
avian consensus. The overall base composition is 51.1% A þ T and 48.9% G þ C. Bayesian tree sug-
Agapornis fischeri; Fischer’s
gested that A. fischeri was placed as sister to the Agapornis roseicollis of the same genus. The results Lovebird; mitochondrial
obtained here would be useful for phylogenetic analyses and breeding works of A. fischeri in future. genome; pet bird

Fischer’s Lovebird (Agapornis fischeri) is native to north-
central Tanzania and introduced to other African nations, such
as Burundi, Kenya, and Rwanda (Cunningham-van Someren
GR 1975; IUCN 2018). This species inhabits all types of wood-
land, especially semi-arid woodland of Acacia, Adansonia, and
Commiphora (Mwangomo et al. 2008; Soobramoney and
Perrin 2014). It was once the most popular wild-caught parrot
in the world and the most common bird in the wild animal
trade (Mwangomo et al. 2008; Li and Jiang 2014). This species
is now being bred in captivity for the pet trade (Frynta et al.

Figure 1. Molecular phylogenies of Agapornis fischeri and other parrot species based on Bayesian inference analysis of the complete mitochondrial genomes.
Posterior probability values are given at the nodes.

CONTACT Hongyi Liu hongyi_liu@njfu.edu.cn The Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, College of Biology and the
Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
ß 2019 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use,
distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
1218 H. LIU ET AL.
2010; IUCN 2018). It has hybridized with other Agapornis spe-
cies in the wild and in captivity (Buckley 1969; IUCN 2018).
Hybrid parrots are very marketable due to their novel and col-
ourful feathers (van der Zwan et al. 2018). Here, we described
the complete mitochondrial genome of A. fischeri.
Muscle tissue of a dead bird was collected from the
Nanjing Hongshan Forest Zoo, Jiangsu Province of China
(N 32 090 , E 118 800 ). The specimen was stored in the
College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry
University. Genomic DNA was extracted using the DNAiso
reagent (Takara, Beijing, China). Polymerase chain reaction
was carried out by the Ex Taq (Takara, Beijing, China). Sanger
sequencing was performed to obtain genome information.
The complete mitochondrial genome of A. fischeri is a typical
circular DNA molecule with 16,719 bp in size (GenBank acces-
sion: MK348530). The nucleotide composition is 21.5% T,
34.6% C, 29.6% A, 14.3% G, with A þ T content of 51.1%.
There are 22 transfer RNA genes, 13 protein-coding genes,
two ribosomal RNA genes, and a non-coding control region
in the mitochondrial genome. The gene arrangement in the
mitochondrial genome of A. fischeri is identical to other love-
bird, which is the original mitochondrial gene arrangement in
avian species (Boore 1999; Eberhard and Wright 2016).
Twenty parrot species were used to reconstruct phylogen-
etic tree based on the complete mitochondrial genome
through the Bayesian inference method (Huelsenbeck et al.
2001), using Butastur liventer as an outgroup. Phylogenetic
tree showed that A. fischeri is placed as sister to the
Agapornis roseicollis of the same genus (Figure 1). Besides,
the Agapornis parrots are closely related to Melopsittacus
undulates distributed in the Australian outback (Figure 1).
The genome information obtained here could contribute to
the conservation and utilization of A. fischeri.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Funding
This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu
Province of China [BK20160927], and the Priority Academic Program
Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions [PAPD].
ORCID
Hongyi Liu http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2081-5779
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