Demonstration of a basic mitochondrial enrichment method to produce the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of the endangered North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis)

Abstract

The North Atlantic right whale is one of only three species within the Eubalaena genus, a group heavily targeted by the whaling industry prior to the twentieth century. All three species (Eubalaena australis, Eubalaena japonica and Eubalaena glacialis) are CITES listed (Appendix I), with the latter two species listed as endangered (IUCN, v 2017-1). The mitochondrial genome of the first two species have been sequenced and are publicly available, while E. glacialis was unavailable. Here we present the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of E. glacialis, while also detailing a straight forward mitochondrial enrichment method that facilitates analysis using next generation sequencing. This method simultaneously allows for efficient sequencing of the mitochondrial genome, while demonstrating quality sequence coverage that is even across the genome. This enrichment illustrates a marked improvement in sequence depth compared to that achieved when performing whole genome sequencing using a standard DNA extraction.