The complete mitochondrial genome and phylogeny of the Emei Shan liocichla (Liocichla omeiensis)

Emei Shan liocichla (Liocichla omeiensis), a species endemic to China, was considered globally vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species because of its small, declining population and fragmented range. In this study, we first determined and described the complete mitochondrial genome of L. omeiensis; the circular genome of L. omeiensis is 17,830 bp in length, and contains 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes, and 1 non-coding control region (d-loop). All tRNA had typical secondary structure, except for tRNASer, which lost the stem of the DHU loop. The overall base composition of the mitochondrial DNA is 29.88% A, 23.99% T, 31.50% C, and 14.62% G. The G + C content is 46.12%. A phylogenetic tree was conducted to explore the taxonomic status of L. omeiensis and showed that L. omeiensis is clustered in a clade with the genera Minla and Leiothrix birds of the family Timaliidae. This information will contribute to future phylogenetic studies of the Timaliidae birds and further conservation strategies for this species.