Abstract
This paper provides evidence of a gender-associated mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) heteroplasmy in the clam Tapes philippinarum. The pattern of tissue distribution of the two observed mtDNA types (referred to as M and F) parallels that of the doubly uniparental inheritance system of Mytilus. The mitochondrial genetic features of the clam are related to a different rate of evolution of the M- and F-type mtDNAs. Since clams are known to be phylogenetically very distant from mussels, the present findings support the hypothesis that the mechanism producing gender-associated heteroplasmy should be considered an ancestral character in the Bivalvia.
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Received: 2 August 2000 / Accepted: 3 December 2000
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Passamonti, M., Scali, V. Gender-associated mitochondrial DNA heteroplasmy in the venerid clam Tapes philippinarum (Mollusca Bivalvia). Curr Genet 39, 117–124 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/s002940100188
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s002940100188