Molecular Biology and Evolution, Vol 16, 676-684, Copyright © 1999 by Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution
T Matsuhashi, R Masuda, T Mano and MC Yoshida
We investigated nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial DNA control
region to describe natural genetic variations and to assess the
relationships between subpopulations of the brown bear Ursus arctos on
Hokkaido Island, Japan. Using the polymerase chain reaction product- direct
sequencing technique, partial sequences (about 930 bases) of the control
region were determined for 56 brown bears sampled throughout Hokkaido
Island. A sequence alignment revealed that the brown bear control region
included a variable sequence on the 5' side and a repetitive region on the
3' side. Phylogenetic trees reconstructed from the 5' variable region
(696-702 bases) exhibited 17 haplotypes, which were clustered into three
groups (Clusters A, B, and C). The distribution of each group did not
overlap with those of the others, and the three different areas were
located in separate mountainous forests of Hokkaido Island. Furthermore,
most of the phylogenetically close haplotypes within each group were
distributed geographically close to each other. In addition, the 3'
repetitive region (arrays of 10 bases) exhibited a much faster mutation
rate than the 5' variable region, resulting in heteroplasmy. Such
mitochondrial DNA divergence in each group could have occurred after the
brown bears migrated from the continent to Hokkaido and became fixed in the
different areas.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Microevolution of the mitochondrial DNA control region in the Japanese brown bear (Ursus arctos) population
Division of Bioscience, Graduate School of Environmental Earth Science, Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
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