Rapid change in mouse mitochondrial DNA (original) (raw)

Mammalian microevolution

Nature volume 423, page 397 (2003)Cite this article

An Erratum to this article was published on 26 June 2003

Wild mice around Chicago may have switched genotype to keep pace with modern living.

Abstract

We have compared the sequences of mitochondrial DNA extracted from museum skins of white-footed mice caught in the Chicago area since 1855 and from modern mice trapped alive in the same locations. We found a consistently similar directional change of mouse genotype over this period at each of five collection sites that were separated by 10–70 km. The genotype most common 100 years ago is now extremely rare, indicating that the mammalian mitochondrial genome can undergo rapid evolution.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Subscribe to this journal

Receive 51 print issues and online access

$199.00 per year

only $3.90 per issue

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Additional access options:

Figure 1: Modern map of the Chicago region where the change in genetic diversity of white-footed mice over 150 years was analysed.

Figure 2

J. SCHULZ/BROOKFIELD ZOO

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Goodyear, P. D., MacLaughlin-Black, S. & Mason, I. J. Biotechniques 16, 232–233 (1994).
    CAS PubMed Google Scholar
  2. Walsh, P. S., Metzger, D. A. & Higuchi, R. Biotechniques 10, 506–513 (1991).
    CAS PubMed Google Scholar
  3. Steinberg, E. K. Mol. Ecol. 8, 1075–1092 (1999).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  4. Barnes, W. M. Gene 112, 29–35 (1992).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  5. Barnes, W. M. Trends Biochem. Sci. 19, 342 (1994).
    Article Google Scholar
  6. Barnes, W. M. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 91, 2216–2220 (1994).
    Article ADS CAS Google Scholar
  7. Barnes, W. M. US Patent No. 5,436,149 (1995).
  8. Baskaran, N. et al. Genome Res. 6, 633–638 (1996).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  9. Pergams, O. R. W. & Nyberg, D. J. Mammalogy 82, 984–992 (2001).
    Article Google Scholar
  10. Pergams, O. R. W. & Nyberg, D. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B (submitted).

Download references

Author information

Author notes

  1. Oliver R.W. Pergams
    Present address: Department of Conservation Biology, Chicago Zoological Society and Smith Fellows Program, The Nature Conservancy, Brookfield, Illinois, 60513, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, 60607, Illinois, USA
    Oliver R.W. Pergams & Dennis Nyberg
  2. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University in St Louis School of Medicine, St Louis, 63110, Missouri, USA
    Wayne M. Barnes

Authors

  1. Oliver R.W. Pergams
  2. Wayne M. Barnes
  3. Dennis Nyberg

Corresponding author

Correspondence toOliver R.W. Pergams.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

Competing financial interests: W.M.B. is an inventor and provider or Klentaq1 DNA polymerase (corrected on 27 May 2003 from "declared none", as was previously stated).

Supplementary information

Rights and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Pergams, O., Barnes, W. & Nyberg, D. Rapid change in mouse mitochondrial DNA.Nature 423, 397 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/423397a

Download citation

This article is cited by