Complete mitochondrial genome of bovine species Gayal (Bos frontalis)

Gayal (Bos frontalis) is a rare semi-wild species mainly living in hill-forests. The conservation status of this species has not yet been assessed by the IUCN, but previous studies have reported it was an endangered species, due to a rapid population decline. In this study, the complete mitogenome of B. frontalis was 16,340 bp in length, contains 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA genes (12S rRNA and 16SrRNA), 22 tRNA genes, a non-coding control region (D-loop), and the origin of L-strand replication. Among the tRNA genes, the tRNA-Ser and tRNA-Leu both have a replication. The base content of the mitogenome is: A (33.5%), C (26%), G (13.4%), T (27.1%), and the GC content is 39.4%. The molecular phylogenetic analysis showed that the B. frontalis, Bos indicus, Bos taurus, and Bos primigenius clustered to one branch, suggested that these species have a close genetic relationship. Our results are expected to offer an essential genetic information for the conservation of this valuable creature and future phylogenetic analysis.