MITOCHONDRIAL-DNA POLYMORPHISM IN DOGS

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) polymorphism was studied in 20 mongrel dogs using 14 restriction enzymes. The polymorphism was observed in the cleavage patterns of Apa I, EcoR I, EcoR V, Hinc II and Sty I. Three morphs using EcoR I and Apa I and two morphs using EcoR V, Hinc II and Sty I were found. However, no polymorphism was detected in the cleavage patterns of BamH I, Bgl II, Hae II, Hind III, Pst I, Sal I, Sca I, Stu I and Xba I. The examined dogs were classified in seven types using five restriction endonucleases which recognized six nucleotide sequences. The value of nucleotide diversity was estimated to be 0.0055. A phylogenetic tree constructed by genetic distances among seven restriction types showed at least two clusters of mtDNA.