Mitochondrial Genome of a Japanese Placozoan

Placozoans are marine invertebrates found in tropical and subtropical waters. Their body plan is among the simplest of free-living animals. The present study determined the mitochondrial genome sequence of a placozoan collected on the coast of Shirahama, Wakayama, Honshu, Japan, and compared it with those of Trichoplax adhaerens from the Red Sea and of three strains from the Caribbean Sea. The sequences of mitochondrial respiratory chain of the Japanese placozoan genes are very similar to those of the BZ49 strain from the Caribbean Sea. However, there are distinct differences in gene arrangement, such as the location of two open reading frames. This Japanese placozoan is therefore distinguishable from the other strains. Based on current knowledge of placozoan 16S diversity our 'Shirahama' strain most likely represents the H15 lineage, known from the Philippines. In the mitochondrial genome of placozoans, substitution rates are slower than in bilaterians, whereas the rate of rearrangements is faster.