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Comparative Analysis of Mitochondrial Genomes in Bombina (Anura; Bombinatoridae)

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Abstract

The complete mitochondrial genomes of two basal anurans, Bombina bombina and B. variegata (Anura; Bombinatoridae), were sequenced. The gene order of their mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is identical to that of canonical vertebrate mtDNA. In contrast, we show that there are structural differences in regulatory regions and protein coding genes between the mtDNA of these two closely related species. Corrected sequence divergence between the mtDNA of B. bombina and B. variegata amounts to 8.7% (2.3% divergence in amino acids). Comparisons with two East Asian congeners show that the control region contains two repeat regions, LV1 and LV2, present in all species except for B. bombina, in which LV2 has been secondarily lost. The rRNAs and tRNAs are characterized by low nucleotide divergence. The protein coding genes are considerably more disparate, although functional constraint is high but variable among genes, as evidenced by dN/dS ratios. A mtDNA phylogeny established the distribution of autapomorphic nonsynonomous substitutions in the mitogenomes of B. bombina and B. variegata. Nine of 98 nonsynonomous substitutions led to radical amino acid replacements that may alter mitochondrial protein function. Most radical substitutions were found in ND2, ND4, or ND5, encoding mitochondrial subunits of complex I of the electron transport system. The extensive divergence between the mitogenomes of B. bombina and B. variegata is discussed in terms of its possible role in impeding gene flow in natural hybrid zones between these two species.

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Acknowledgments

The study was supported by grants from the American Philosophical Society to J.M.S. and KBN Grant 2PO4C 087 29 to J.M.S. and M.P.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Comparative Anatomy, Jagiellonian University, Ingardena 6, 30-060, Krakow, Poland

    Maciej Pabijan & Jacek M. Szymura

  2. Center for Systematic Biology and Evolution, Academy of Natural Sciences, 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA, 19103, USA

    Christina Spolsky & Thomas Uzzell

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  1. Maciej Pabijan
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  2. Christina Spolsky
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  4. Jacek M. Szymura
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Correspondence to Maciej Pabijan.

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Pabijan, M., Spolsky, C., Uzzell, T. et al. Comparative Analysis of Mitochondrial Genomes in Bombina (Anura; Bombinatoridae). J Mol Evol 67, 246–256 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00239-008-9123-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00239-008-9123-3

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