1. Introduction
Anderson’s White-bellied
Rat, Niviventer andersoni belongs to genus Niviventer ,
family Muridae, and order Rodentia. N. andersoni is a species
endemic to China, and has the largest body-size when compared with
congeneric species of Niviventer [1]. They live in various
kinds of forest in both lowlands and mountains [2]. Fossil records
showed that this species extended to the low altitude regions of
Southeast China during the late Quaternary in Chongqing and Guizhou
Provinces, suggesting its potential to expand southward the climate
turned colder [3,4].
Niviventer contains 17 recognized species, with another 65 are
recognized as synonyms, occurring from the Himalayas and China to the
Great Sunda Islands [5]. All Niviventer species are
distinguished from other murid rodents by the long, slender, flat
craniums and the tail-tip on tails [6]. They inhabit a variety of
habitats ranging from damp forests to dry valleys. They are also among
the most common infectious agents in humans [7]. According to
previous studies (Musser, 1981), the Niviventer was separated
into two primary divisions: the N. andersoni -Division and theN. niviventer -Division [8]. Phylogenetic trees based on
mitochondrial cytochrome b (cytb) gene showed that N. andersoniand N. excelsior were clustered together and comprised theN. andersoni -Division [6]. Meanwhile, N. fulvescensand N. cremoriventer were initially clustered together, withN. confucianus as the next closest relative and formed the sister
group of, N. niviventer -Division. However, single gene sequences
are sometimes limited in their provision of useful data, since each gene
evolves under different evolutionary pressures and time scales [9].
Compared to single mitochondrial gene sequences, complete mitochondrial
genome sequences can provide improved resolution and sensitivity for
investigations into the evolutionary relationships between closely
related species [21,24].
Up to now, the complete mitogenomes of 4 species within the genusNiviventer were available in GenBank. Complete mitochondrial
genomes have been used for taxonomic and phylogenetic analyses of
diverse animal groups, due to its small size, maternal inheritance, low
level of recombination and fast rate of evolution (particularly in
rodents) [10-13]. The lack of genetic data has limited our
understanding of the phylogeny of N. andersoni . In the present
study, we sequenced the complete mitochondrial genome of N.
andersoni . The study has provided the features of the N.
andersoni mitochondrial genome and has allowed us to compare its
phylogenetic relationships with several other rat species. Our findings
provide useful genetic data for phylogenetic comparisons to other rodent
species with complete mitogenome information.