A complete mitochondrial genome of Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris), MK992912, was published by He and colleagues in 2020. Here we show that this mitogenome is actually a chimera containing DNA fragments of both C. tenuirostris (15,567 bp, 92.8%) and Pacific Golden Plover (Pluvialis fulva, 1208 bp, 7.2%). Detecting such errors is possible before publication if each sequenced fragment is separately analyzed phylogenetically before assembling the fragments into a single mitogenome. This mitogenome has been re-used in at least four phylogenies. The error is documented to avoid the perpetuation of erroneous sequence information in the literature.

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doi.org/10.1080/23802359.2024.2342932
Mitochondrial DNA Part B

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Staff publications

Sangster, G., & Luksenburg, Jolanda A. (2024). Complete mitochondrial genome MK992912 of Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris) is a chimera with DNA from Pacific Golden Plover Pluvialis fulva (Aves: Charadriiformes). Mitochondrial DNA Part B, 9(4), 532–535. doi:10.1080/23802359.2024.2342932