Complete mitochondrial genome and phylogenetic analysis of eight sika deer subspecies in northeast Asia

Sika deer ( Cervus nippon ) are large ruminants distributed throughout northeastern Asia. The phylogenetic relationship of the sika deer subspecies remains unclear. The complete mitochondrial genomes of 287 sika deer from eight subspecies ( C. n. hortulorum , C. n. sichuanicus , C. n. kopschi , C. n. taiouanus , C. n. yesoensis , C. n. centralis , C. n. nippon and C. n. yakushimae ) were obtained. Haplotype network and development of a phylogenetic tree revealed China clusters and Japan clusters that were well separated based on the mitochondrial whole-genome level. Our studies indicate that China sika deer are genetically distinguishable from Japanese samples. Our findings increase the understanding of the phylogenetic relationships of sika deer and could provide useful information for sika deer conservation projects as well as for sika deer genomics, emergence and geographical distribution.