mtDNA Control Region (mtdna + control_region)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


POSTGLACIAL DISPERSAL OF THE EUROPEAN RABBIT (ORYCTOLAGUS CUNICULUS) ON THE IBERIAN PENINSULA RECONSTRUCTED FROM NESTED CLADE AND MISMATCH ANALYSES OF MITOCHONDRIAL DNA GENETIC VARIATION

EVOLUTION, Issue 4 2002
Madalena Branco
Abstract Nested clade analysis was applied to cytochrome b restriction site data previously obtained on 20 natural populations of the European rabbit across the Iberian Peninsula to test the hypothesis of postglacial dispersal from two main refugia, one in the northeast and the other in the southwest. Apart from historical fragmentation that resulted in geographic discontinuity of two distinct mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) clades A and B, patterns of haplotype genetic variability have been shaped mostly by restricted gene flow via isolation by distance. The distribution of tip versus interior haplotypes suggests that dispersal occurred from both the southwestern and northeastern groups. Dispersal from the southwest had a north and northwest direction, whereas from the northeast it had mostly a western and southern orientation, with subsequent overlap in a southeastern-northwestern axis across the Iberian Peninsula. The analysis of the pairwise mismatch distribution of a 179,181-bp fragment of the mtDNA control region, for seven of those populations, further supports the idea that major patterns of dispersal were in the direction of central Iberia. Additionally, rabbit populations do not show signs of any significant loss of genetic diversity in the recent past, implying that they maintained large population sizes and structure throughout the ice ages. This is congruent with the fact that the Iberian Peninsula was itself a glacial refugium during Quaternary ice ages. Nonetheless, climatic oscillations of this period, although certainly milder than in northern Europe, were sufficient to affect the range distributions of Iberian organisms. [source]


Distribution of nuclear mitochondrial DNA in cattle nuclear genome

JOURNAL OF ANIMAL BREEDING AND GENETICS, Issue 5 2007
Y. Liu
Summary The nuclear mitochondrial pseudogenes (numts), originated from mtDNA insertions into the nuclear genome, have been detected to exist in many species. However, the distribution of numts in cattle nuclear genome yet has not been fully reported. By referring to the whole cattle mtDNA sequence and to the recently released cattle nuclear genome by Human Genome Sequencing Center (HGSC), 303 numts were identified by BLAST with 55 numts unmapped to cattle nuclear genome. Further analysis found that the size of the numts ranges from 37 to 1932 bp, and the homologous identity between numts and their corresponding mtDNA fragments varies from 73 to 98%. Furthermore, the identified cattle numts cover nearly all the mitochondrial genes including mtDNA control region, distributing over all the chromosomes with the exception of the chromosome 23 and Y chromosome (in the latter the sequence data are not available). In the discovered numts, 29 relatively complete mitochondrial genes, which were distributed in 72 numts, were detected. Undoubtedly, this research would provide some valuable information for successive research related to mitochondrial genes and the evolution of cattle. [source]


Molecular phylogeny of Turkish Trachurus species (Perciformes: Carangidae) inferred from mitochondrial DNA analyses

JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY, Issue 5 2008
Y. Bektas
Genetic variation among three species of Trachurus (T. trachurus, T. mediterraneus and T. picturatus) from Turkey was investigated by phylogenetic analysis of the entire mtDNA control region (CR) (862 bp, n = 182) and partial cytochrome (cyt) b (239 bp, n = 174) sequences. Individuals were collected at nine stations in four geographic locations: North-eastern Mediterranean Sea, Aegean Sea, Sea of Marmara and Black Sea. Polymerase chain reaction-direct sequencing of the CR and the partial cyt b genes produced 28 and 131 distinct haplotypes, respectively. Maximum likelihood, neighbour-joining and maximum parsimony methods produced similar tree topologies. The results of both CR and cyt b sequence analyses revealed the existence of several species-specific nucleotide sites that can be used to discriminate between the three species. Genetic distances indicated that T. mediterraneus and T. picturatus are more closely related to each other than either is to T. trachurus. Inter-nucleotide and intra-nucleotide diversities of T. picturatus were larger than those of T. mediterraneus and T. trachurus. There was no evidence of a geographical difference in haplotype frequencies of these two mtDNA regions to be clustered. [source]


Genetic and morphological characterization of a Lake Ohrid endemic, Salmo (Acantholingua) ohridanus with a comparison to sympatric Salmo trutta

JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY, Issue A 2006
S. Su
Analysis of both uni-(two mtDNA gene sequences) and bi-parentally (seven microsatellite loci) inherited genetic markers, together with analysis of 40 morphological characters, described Salmo ohridanus as a highly divergent member of the genus Salmo. Based on comparative substitution rate differences at the cytochrome b gene, and a rough estimated age of the Salmo trutta complex (i.e. at least 2 million years), the S. ohridanus and Salmo obtusirostris clade probably split from a common ancestor of brown trout Salmo trutta >4 million years ago, overlapping with minimum age estimates of the formation of Europe's oldest freshwater habitat, Lake Ohrid. Comparative analysis with Lake Ohrid brown trout (known regionally as Salmo letnica), supported the notion that these fish have more recently colonized the lake and phylogenetically belong to the Adriatic lineage of brown trout. It is further suggested that species-specific saturation in the mtDNA control region underestimated the divergence between S. ohridanus and S. trutta. Evidence of rare hybridization between S. ohridanus and Lake Ohrid brown trout was seen at both mtDNA and microsatellite markers, but there was no support for extensive introgression. [source]


Comparative mtDNA sequence (control region, ATPase 6 and NADH-1) divergence in Hucho taimen(Pallas) across four Siberian river basins

JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY, Issue 4 2005
E. Froufe
Hucho taimen from eight populations spanning four drainage basins (Amur, Lena, Enisei and Khatanga) were analysed for nucleotide sequence variation across three mitochondrial genes (ATP6, NADH-1 and control region). Samples of H. hucho, Brachymystax lenok(sharp-snouted and blunt-snouted forms) and Parahucho perryi were also included for comparison. Nucleotide variation across a total of 1826 base pairs in H. taimen revealed shared haplotypes between the Amur and Lena basins, further supporting a previous hypothesis of late to post-Pleistocene hydrological exchange between these now disjunct basins. In contrast to an earlier study using the control region alone, clear phylogeographic structure was seen at a large geographic scale, reflected by two phylogroups, one corresponding to the Amur and Lena basins, and the other to the Enisei and Khatanga basins. Comparative rates of divergence revealed considerably faster and less heterogeneous substitution rates for the two coding genes, especially at interspecific levels compared to the mtDNA control region. [source]


Evolution and structural organisation of mitochondrial DNA control region of myiasis-causing flies

MEDICAL AND VETERINARY ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 1 2000
A. C. Lessinger
Summary This study reports the molecular characterization of the mtDNA control region (called the A + T-rich region in insects) of five dipteran species which cause myiasis: Cochliomyia hominivorax Coquerel, Cochliomyia macellaria Fabricius, Chrysomya megacephala Fabricius, Lucilia eximia Wiedemann (Diptera: Calliphoridae) and Dermatobia hominis Linnaeus Jr (Diptera: Oestridae). The control region in these species varies in length from 1000 to 1600 bp. Two structural domains with specific evolutionary patterns were identified. These were (1) conserved sequence blocks containing primary sequence motifs, including dinucleotide pyrimidine-purine series and long T-stretches, located at the 5, end adjacent to the tRNAIle gene and (2) a hypervariable domain at the 3, end characterized by increased nucleotide divergence and size variation. A high frequency of A,T transversions at nucleotide substitution level indicated directional mutation pressure. The phylogenetic usefulness of the insect control region is discussed. [source]


World phylogeography and male-mediated gene flow in the sandbar shark, Carcharhinus plumbeus

MOLECULAR ECOLOGY, Issue 10 2010
DAVID S. PORTNOY
Abstract The sandbar shark, Carcharhinus plumbeus, is a large, cosmopolitan, coastal species. Females are thought to show philopatry to nursery grounds while males potentially migrate long distances, creating an opportunity for male-mediated gene flow that may lead to discordance in patterns revealed by mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and nuclear markers. While this dynamic has been investigated in elasmobranchs over small spatial scales, it has not been examined at a global level. We examined patterns of historical phylogeography and contemporary gene flow by genotyping 329 individuals from nine locations throughout the species' range at eight nuclear microsatellite markers and sequencing the complete mtDNA control region. Pairwise comparisons often resulted in fixation indices and divergence estimates of greater magnitude using mtDNA sequence data than microsatellite data. In addition, multiple methods of estimation suggested fewer populations based on microsatellite loci than on mtDNA sequence data. Coalescent analyses suggest divergence and restricted migration among Hawaii, Taiwan, eastern and western Australia using mtDNA sequence data and no divergence and high migration rates, between Taiwan and both Australian sites using microsatellite data. Evidence of secondary contact was detected between several localities and appears to be discreet in time rather than continuous. Collectively, these data suggest complex spatial/temporal relationships between shark populations that may feature pulses of female dispersal and more continuous male-mediated gene flow. [source]


Ecological, morphological and genetic divergence of sympatric North Atlantic killer whale populations

MOLECULAR ECOLOGY, Issue 24 2009
ANDREW D. FOOTE
Abstract Ecological divergence has a central role in speciation and is therefore an important source of biodiversity. Studying the micro-evolutionary processes of ecological diversification at its early stages provides an opportunity for investigating the causative mechanisms and ecological conditions promoting divergence. Here we use morphological traits, nitrogen stable isotope ratios and tooth wear to characterize two disparate types of North Atlantic killer whale. We find a highly specialist type, which reaches up to 8.5 m in length and a generalist type which reaches up to 6.6 m in length. There is a single fixed genetic difference in the mtDNA control region between these types, indicating integrity of groupings and a shallow divergence. Phylogenetic analysis indicates this divergence is independent of similar ecological divergences in the Pacific and Antarctic. Niche-width in the generalist type is more strongly influenced by between-individual variation rather than within-individual variation in the composition of the diet. This first step to divergent specialization on different ecological resources provides a rare example of the ecological conditions at the early stages of adaptive radiation. [source]


Mitochondrial DNA differentiation between two forms of trout Salmo letnica, endemic to the Balkan Lake Ohrid, reflects their reproductive isolation

MOLECULAR ECOLOGY, Issue 12 2004
J. SELL
Abstract Mitochondrial haplotype diversity in sympatric populations of Ohrid trout, Salmo letnica was investigated by polymerase chain reaction,restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis of the mtDNA control region and ND1, ND3/4, ND5/6 segments. A 310 bp fragment at the 5, end, and a 340,572 bp fragment at the 3, end of the control region were sequenced from representatives of the populations studied. Based on pairwise comparison of the sequences, five new haplotypes were identified plus one identical with the brown trout Andalusian haplotype from the southern Iberian Peninsula. The combination of both RFLP and sequence data sets yielded a total of 10 composite haplotypes. A high degree of genetic subdivision between S. letnica typicus and S. letnica aestivalis populations was observed. The notion of a sympatric origin for the two morphs is discussed. Length variation of the mtDNA control region due to the presence of an 82 bp unit, tandemly repeated one to four times, in the region between the conserved sequence block-3 (CSB-3) and the gene for phenylalanine tRNA is reported. Further, we demonstrate that a single duplication of the approximately 82 bp repeat unit is a common element of the salmonid mitochondrial control region. The unique genetic structure of Ohrid trout represents a highly valuable genetic resource that deserves appropriate management and conservation. [source]


Genetic structure among closely spaced leks in a peripheral population of lesser prairie-chickens

MOLECULAR ECOLOGY, Issue 2 2004
Juan L. Bouzat
Abstract We evaluated the genetic structure of birds from four closely spaced leks in a peripheral population of lesser prairie-chickens (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus). Analyses of molecular variance revealed significant genetic structuring among birds from different leks for six microsatellite loci (FST = 0.036; P = 0.002), but we found no genetic differentiation at the mtDNA control region. Significant deviations from Hardy,Weinberg revealed an excess of homozygote genotypes within each of the leks studied (FIS = 0.190,0.307), indicative of increased inbreeding. Estimates of relatedness using microsatellite data suggest that the genetic structuring among lesser prairie-chicken leks occurs in part because of a lek mating system in which males at some leks are related. Structuring may also be caused by stochastic effects associated with a historical decline in population size leading to small, semi-isolated leks and high site fidelity by reproductive males. Results from this study suggest that microspatial genetic structuring may occur in lek-mating bird species with low levels of dispersal. [source]


Patterns of population subdivision, gene flow and genetic variability in the African wild dog (Lycaon pictus)

MOLECULAR ECOLOGY, Issue 7 2001
D. J. Girman
Abstract African wild dogs are large, highly mobile carnivores that are known to disperse over considerable distances and are rare throughout much of their geographical range. Consequently, genetic variation within and differentiation between geographically separated populations is predicted to be minimal. We determined the genetic diversity of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region sequences and microsatellite loci in seven populations of African wild dogs. Analysis of mtDNA nucleotide diversity suggests that, historically, wild dog populations have been small relative to other large carnivores. However, population declines due to recent habitat loss have not caused a dramatic reduction in genetic diversity. We found one historical and eight recent mtDNA genotypes in 280 individuals that defined two highly divergent clades. In contrast to a previous, more limited, mtDNA analysis, sequences from these clades are not geographically restricted to eastern or southern African populations. Rather, we found a large admixture zone spanning populations from Botswana, Zimbabwe and south-eastern Tanzania. Mitochondrial and microsatellite differentiation between populations was significant and unique mtDNA genotypes and alleles characterized the populations. However, gene flow estimates (Nm) based on microsatellite data were generally greater than one migrant per generation. In contrast, gene flow estimates based on the mtDNA control region were lower than expected given differences in the mode of inheritance of mitochondrial and nuclear markers which suggests a male bias in long-distance dispersal. [source]


Genetic perspectives on forager-farmer interaction in the Luangwa Valley of Zambia

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 3 2010
Cesare de Filippo
Abstract The transformation from a foraging way of life to a reliance on domesticated plants and animals often led to the expansion of agropastoralist populations at the expense of hunter-gatherers (HGs). In Africa, one of these expansions involved the Niger-Congo Bantu-speaking populations that started to spread southwards from Cameroon/Nigeria ,4,000 years ago, bringing agricultural technologies. Genetic studies have shown different degrees of gene flow (sometimes involving sex-biased migrations) between Bantu agriculturalists and HGs. Although these studies have covered many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, the central part (e.g. Zambia) was not yet studied, and the interactions between immigrating food-producers and local HGs are still unclear. Archeological evidence from the Luangwa Valley of Zambia suggests a long period of coexistence (,1,700 years) of early food-producers and HGs. To investigate if this apparent coexistence was accompanied by genetic admixture, we analyzed the mtDNA control region, Y chromosomal unique event polymorphisms, and 12 associated Y- short tandem repeats in two food-producing groups (Bisa and Kunda) that live today in the Luangwa Valley, and compared these data with available published data on African HGs. Our results suggest that both the Bisa and Kunda experienced at most low levels of admixture with HGs, and these levels do not differ between the maternal and paternal lineages. Coalescent simulations indicate that the genetic data best fit a demographic scenario with a long divergence (62,500 years) and little or no gene flow between the ancestors of the Bisa/Kunda and existing HGs. This scenario contrasts with the archaeological evidence for a long period of coexistence between the two different communities in the Luangwa Valley, and suggests a process of sociocultural boundary maintenance may have characterized their interaction. Am J Phys Anthropol 2010. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


A fine map for maternal lineage analysis by mitochondrial hypervariable region in 12 Chinese goat breeds

ANIMAL SCIENCE JOURNAL, Issue 4 2009
Yan-Ping WU
ABSTRACT As the fast pace of genomic research continues to identify mitochondrial lineages in animals, it has become apparent that many independent studies are needed to support a robust phylogenetic inference. The aim of this study was thus to further characterize the maternal lineage, proposed to originate in southwestern region of China, using a wider survey of diverse goat breeds in China. To this end, we sequenced the mitochondrial hypervariable region 1 (HVR1) of the mtDNA control region in 145 goats of 12 Chinese breeds. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that Chinese goats were classified into four distinct lineages (A, B, C and D) as previously reported. A Mantel test and the analysis of Analysis of Molecular Variance (ANOVA) indicated that there was not an obvious geographic structure among Chinese goat breeds. Population expansion analysis based on mismatch distribution and Fu's Fs statistic indicate that two expansion events in Chinese goats occurred respectively at about 11 and 29 mutational time units ago, revealing two star-like subclades in lineage B corresponding to two population expansion events. Moreover, lineage B sequences were presented only in the breeds of southwestern or surrounding regions of China. Multiple lines of evidence from this study and previous studies indicate that for Chinese goats mtDNA lineage B originated from the southwestern region of China. [source]