Mitochondrial genomes of Micropterus cataractae and Micropterus henshalli- New genetic resources to support management

This project reports the complete mitochondrial genome sequences of two black bass species, the shoal bass (Micropterus cataractae) and the Alabama bass (Micropterus henshalli), both native to the southeastern United States. Shoal bass are threatened by introgressive hybridization with non-native black bass species, while Alabama bass have been widely introduced outside their native range, raising concerns about genetic impacts on native populations. To support conservation and management efforts, we generated high-quality mitogenome assemblies for both species, with total lengths of 16,487 bp for shoal bass and 16,630 bp for Alabama bass, and GC contents of 46.9% and 47.1%, respectively. These assemblies are consistent with other Micropterus species in terms of gene content and organization. We also identified species-specific single nucleotide polymorphisms within mitochondrial genes commonly used for taxonomic identification and constructed a new reference mitogenome for spotted bass (M. punctulatus) due to discrepancies in the existing reference sequence. The sequencing data generated in this study provide valuable genomic resources for future studies on species identification, phylogenetics, and conservation genetics of black basses.