The mitochondrial genome of Ifremeria nautilei and the phylogenetic position of the enigmatic deep-sea Abyssochrysoidea (Mollusca: Gastropoda)

• The mitochondrial genome of Ifremeria nautilei is 15,664 pb in length.
• The gene arrangement is that of caenogastropods except for the trnW gene position.
• The mtDNA phylogeny supports that Ifremeria is closely related to hypsogastropods.
• The divergence of Abyssochrysoidea was dated in the Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous.

The complete nucleotide sequence of the mitochondrial (mt) genome of the deep-sea vent snail Ifremeria nautilei (Gastropoda: Abyssochrysoidea) was determined. The double stranded circular molecule is 15,664 pb in length and encodes for the typical 37 metazoan mitochondrial genes. The gene arrangement of the Ifremeria mt genome is most similar to genome organization of caenogastropods and differs only on the relative position of the trnW gene. The deduced amino acid sequences of the mt protein coding genes of Ifremeria mt genome were aligned with orthologous sequences from representatives of the main lineages of gastropods and phylogenetic relationships were inferred. The reconstructed phylogeny supports that Ifremeria belongs to Caenogastropoda and that it is closely related to hypsogastropod superfamilies. Results were compared with a reconstructed nuclear-based phylogeny. Moreover, a relaxed molecular-clock timetree calibrated with fossils dated the divergence of Abyssochrysoidea in the Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous indicating a relatively modern colonization of deep-sea environments by these snails.