Calibration of mitochondrial DNA evolution in geese (original) (raw)

Summary

Mitochondrial DNA was purified from five American species of geese representing the genera_Anser_ and_Branta_, which have fossil records. The results of electrophoretic comparisons of about 75 fragments per individual produced by 14 restriction enzymes imply that the mean extent of sequence divergence between species of_Anser_ and_Branta_ is about 9%. Fossil evidence suggests that these two groups of geese had a common ancestor 4–5 million years ago. Thus, the mean rate of sequence divergence in goose mitochondiral DNA is not far from 2% per million years, the value in mammals.

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Abbreviations

mtDNA:

mitochondrial DNA

bp:

base pairs

Myr:

million years

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  1. Gerald F. Shields
    Present address: Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska, 99775, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry, University of California, 94720, Berkeley, California, USA
    Gerald F. Shields & Allan C. Wilson

Authors

  1. Gerald F. Shields
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  2. Allan C. Wilson
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Shields, G.F., Wilson, A.C. Calibration of mitochondrial DNA evolution in geese.J Mol Evol 24, 212–217 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02111234

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