Molecular Biology and Evolution, Vol 11, 9-21, Copyright © 1994 by Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution
DT Stewart and AJ Baker
Direct sequencing of the mitochondrial displacement loop (D-loop) of shrews
(genus Sorex) for the region between the tRNA(Pro) and the conserved
sequence block-F revealed variable numbers of 79-bp tandem repeats. These
repeats were found in all 19 individuals sequenced, representing three
subspecies and one closely related species of the masked shrew group (Sorex
cinereus cinereus, S. c. miscix, S. c. acadicus, and S. haydeni) and an
outgroup, the pygmy shrew (S. hoyi). Each specimen also possessed an
adjacent 76-bp imperfect copy of the tandem repeats. One individual was
heteroplasmic for length variants consisting of five and seven copies of
the 79-bp tandem repeat. The sequence of the repeats is conducive to the
formation of secondary structure. A termination-associated sequence is
present in each of the repeats and in a unique sequence region 5' to the
tandem array as well. Mean genetic distance between the masked shrew taxa
and the pygmy shrew was calculated separately for the unique sequence
region, one of the tandem repeats, the imperfect repeat, and these three
regions combined. The unique sequence region evolved more rapidly than the
tandem repeats or the imperfect repeat. The small genetic distance between
pairs of tandem repeats within an individual is consistent with a model of
concerted evolution. Repeats are apparently duplicated and lost at a high
rate, which tends to homogenize the tandem array. The rate of D- loop
sequence divergence between the masked and pygmy shrews is estimated to be
15%-20%/Myr, the highest rate observed in D-loops of mammals. Rapid
sequence evolution in shrews may be due either to their high metabolic rate
and short generation time or to the presence of variable numbers of tandem
repeats.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Patterns of sequence variation in the mitochondrial D-loop region of shrews
Department of Zoology, University of Toronto.
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