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First Complete Mitochondrial Genome Published for the Common Whitethroat

Female common whitethroat perched at Aston Upthorpe, Oxfordshire
Research · Genetics & genomics

Researchers have published the first complete mitochondrial genome for the common whitethroat (Curruca communis). A mitogenome is the complete DNA sequence carried by the mitochondria, separate from the much larger genome in the cell nucleus. Complete mitochondrial sequences provide a common genetic reference for comparing evolutionary relationships and genetic variation among species and populations.

The new common-whitethroat mitogenome was assembled after enrichment of mitochondrial DNA and is 17,141 base pairs long. It contains the standard set of 13 mitochondrial protein-coding genes, two ribosomal RNA genes and 22 transfer RNA genes.

One long and one shortened control region

The genome also contains two control regions of unequal length. These are non-protein-coding parts of the mitochondrial genome. The same structural pattern occurred in the other Curruca mitogenomes used in the comparison: one control region was long and the second was shortened.

This differed from most known mitochondrial genomes of the related genus Sylvia, where two control regions of nearly equal length are more common. The authors note that the unequal pair is unusual more broadly within the passerine superfamily Sylvioidea, making genome structure itself useful for comparative evolutionary work.

The sequence clarified relationships within Curruca

A phylogenetic analysis using mitochondrial sequences placed the common whitethroat as the sister lineage to the clade formed by the two other Curruca species with complete mitogenomes in the analysis. This relationship received the maximum support reported by the analysis.

The protein-coding genes of all three Curruca species also showed strong purifying selection. Purifying selection means that genetic changes that disrupt conserved protein function tend to be removed over generations, so protein-coding sequences remain comparatively constrained.

The authors present the new sequence as a reference for future studies of common-whitethroat evolution and population genetics, and for broader work on phylogeny and taxonomy within Sylviidae. Its main contribution is therefore not a new behavioural or ecological finding, but a complete genetic reference and a clearer comparison of mitochondrial genome structure among closely related warblers.

Sources and image credit

  1. Starikov, I. J., Baturina, O. A., Vysotsky, V. G., & Kabilov, M. R. (2026). Complete mitochondrial genome of the Common Whitethroat Curruca communis: Characteristics and comparative analysis with other Sylviidae. Proceedings of the Zoological Institute RAS, 330(2), 177. https://doi.org/10.31610/trudyzin/2026.330.2.177Primary research article published 22 June 2026. The first complete mitochondrial genome published for Curruca communis is 17,141 bp long and contains 13 protein-coding genes, two rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes and two unequal control regions. Phylogenetic analysis placed C. communis as sister to the clade formed by the two other Curruca species included with maximum support.

Image: Charles J. Sharp / Wikimedia Commons / Sharp Photography — female common whitethroat (Curruca communis; photographed under the older Sylvia communis name) at Aston Upthorpe, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom, 27 April 2015; representative species image · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

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