The Complete Mitochondrial Genome of the Tennessee Dace (chrosomus Tennesseensis)

The Tennessee Dace, Chrosomus tennesseensis (Starnes and Jenkins 1988), is a small minnow (Cypriniformes: Leuciscidae) found in the upper Tennessee River watershed and Graves Creek, in the Mobile River watershed. Chrosomus tennesseensis occurs sporadically throughout its range and has been listed as vulnerable by the IUCN (NatureServe). Until recently, C. tennesseensis had been known only to occur in the upper Tennessee River watershed, however, it has been discovered in headwaters of the Black Warrior River of the Mobile River watershed. We sequenced the mitochondrial genome of C. tennesseensis collected in the Mobile River watershed to better understand the colonization of the Mobile River watershed and the interspecific relationships of Chrosomus. Furthermore, the availability of the mitochondrial genome will assist in designing specific environmental DNA (eDNA) primers that will allow for less intrusive sampling of threatened and endangered Chrosomus species.