Molecular Biology and Evolution, Vol 14, 173-184, Copyright © 1997 by Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution
HD Marshall and AJ Baker
We sequenced the entire control region and portions of flanking genes
(tRNA(Phe), tRNA(Glu), and ND6) in the common chaffinch (Fringilla
coelebs), blue chaffinch (F. teydea), brambling (F. montifringilla), and
greenfinch (Carduelis chloris). In these finches the control region is
similar in length (1,223-1,237 bp) and has the same flanking gene order as
in other birds, and contains a putative TAS element and the highly
conserved CSB-1 and F, D, and C boxes recognizable in most vertebrates.
Cloverleaf-like structures associated with the TAS element at the 5' end
and CSB-1 at the 3' end of the control region may be involved with the stop
and start of D-loop synthesis, respectively. The pattern of nucleotide and
substitution bias is similar to that in other vertebrates, and consequently
the finch control region can be subdivided into a central, conserved G-rich
domain (domain II) flanked by hypervariable 5'-C-rich (domain I) and
3'-AT-rich (domain III) segments. In pairwise comparisons among finch
species, the central domain has unusually low transition/transversion
ratios, which suggests that increased G + T content is a functional
constraint, possibly for DNA primase efficiency. In finches the relative
rates of evolution vary among domains according to a ratio of 4.2 (domain
III) to 2.2 (domain I) to 1 (domain II), and extensively among sites within
domains I and II. Domain I and III sequences are extremely useful in
recovering intraspecific phylogeographic splits between populations in
Africa and Europe, Madeira, and a basal lineage in Nefza, Tunisia. Domain
II sequences are highly conserved, and are therefore only useful in
conjunction with sequences from domains I and III in phylogenetic studies
of closely related species.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Structural conservation and variation in the mitochondrial control region of fringilline finches (Fringilla spp.) and the greenfinch (Carduelis chloris)
Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Biology, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada. hdm@zoo.utoronto.ca
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