The low level of differences between mitogenomes of the Sakhalin sturgeon <Emphasis Type="Italic">Acipenser mikadoi</Emphasis> Hilgendorf, 1892 and the green sturgeon <Emphasis Type="Italic">A. medirostris</Emphasis> Ayeres, 1854 (Acipenseridae) indicates their recent divergence

The complete mitochondrial genome of the Sakhalin sturgeon Acipenser mikadoi and two mitogenomes of the Amur sturgeon A. schrenckii were sequenced using Roche 454 technology. The mitogenomes of the green sturgeon A. medirostris (obtained from GenBank) and the Sakhalin sturgeon differ as much as the mitogenomes of two mtDNA haplogroups (SM and BG) found in the same population of the Amur sturgeon: 0.0042 ± 0.0006 and 0.0036 ± 0.0005 substitutions per site (Tamura–Nei distance, TrN), respectively. The differences of these mitogenome pairs from mitogenomes of sister species (kaluga A. dauricus and white sturgeon A. transmontanus) are 3–6 times larger: 0.0260 ± 0.0015 and 0.0102 ± 0.0008, respectively. Thus, the differences between the mitogenomes of the Sakhalin and green sturgeons can be attributed to the variability at the intraspecific level. The time that has passed since the divergence of the Sakhalin and green sturgeons is considered to be much shorter than was previously believed: approximately 0.16 rather than 9.60 million years.